Asymmetrical
by Thoughts Of A Shadow
Summary: Roy and Ed have a give-and-take relationship. Parental!RoyEd. Drabble series. An elaboration on Destined to Repeat's 'Asymmetrical'/Mustang looked around for his table without luck. "Get lost, Colonel?" A young voice called out."First time in a bar?"
1. Nightmare

_A/N. FIRST: This story is an extended version of Destined to Repeat's _Asymmetrical_, which she had been kind enough to let me borrow. All the beginning prompts belong to her solely._

_SECOND: The reason I've re-posted this instead of chapter eight was because I felt the first chapter was kind of lacking, as well as number four. I won't be totally re-doing it, just cleaning it up a little. _Then_, I'll finish eight, because I already have some ideas for that._

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own FMA. I don't own the prompts. End of discussion, as my lawyers love to say._

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1) Neither would ever admit it, but there were nights that Roy woke up feeling sick from a dream of sending Ed to the mission that would finally kill him; and Ed woke up thinking that somehow, someone had finally managed to defeat the undefeatable Colonel.

* * *

Mustang stared at the wall, ignoring the three fingers of whisky clenched in his hand as he tried to count the number of cracks spiraling away from the baseboard. Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-six…no, twenty-five?

Damn. Lost count again.

He started over, taking as sip of the hard liquor and trying desperately to forget. One. Two. Three.

Trying to forget the dream (nightmare) that had sent him stumbling for the alcohol without bothering to look in a mirror or go back to bed. (Sleep would _never_ come. Not after that.)

The whiskey burned his throat, leaving a pleasant sting at the back of his mouth. He hummed appreciatively as he continued his hopeless quest. Seven. Eight. Oh, he hadn't seen that one earlier-nine.

He shuffled his feet on the coffee table, rubbing one socked foot against a bare one as he remembered staring down at those same feet, only booted and covered with someone else's blood. He huffed and scratched at the back of his head, ruffling up previously sleep-mussed hair. Well, this wasn't going away any time soon- better settle in for the long haul. He drained back the rest of his shot (and no, he hadn't _gasped_ when it hit the back of his throat, merely coughed…a bit) and filled it up with more of the golden liquid.

"Drink of the gods." He murmured to himself before laughing and slumping back against the worn couch. Now was as good a time as any, and he let the memories (nightmares) wash over him.

First there was the file, sitting there oh-so-innocently on his desk with the word 'Confidential' stamped across it in loud red letters. He recalled flipping it open and staring uninterestedly at the small black print before he called Lieutenant Hawkeye into the office and asked if the Elrics were in town.

Fast forward to that afternoon and the older boy was glaring at him across his desk, irritation and exasperation in his gaze.

"Come _on_, Colonel! We just got a lead, and now you're sending me out to look for _Scar?_ What the hell is wrong with you?"

And all he did was shrug, hand Fullmetal the orders and shoo him out of his office.

"This needs to be finished, Fullmetal. Do it quick."

He hadn't seen the boy for two hours after that, telling himself that the slight tugging at his gut was just nerves that he wouldn't get his paperwork done in time to please Hawkeye.

Speed up again and he hadn't even taken the call that would _destroy_ his _life_.

Hawkeye answered the phone, relieving the Colonel of the headache that had slowly been building between his eyes. He faintly heard her calm voice rise in concern in the other room and had his head perked in confusion. What on earth could get his usually collected Lieutenant so riled?

He jumped when a knock sounded on his door and only just managed to make it look like he had been busy with paperwork before Hawkeye stormed in and demanded he pick up the phone. He didn't need to be told twice and he had barked "Mustang" into the receiver before he knew it.

Fast forward past the call from the chief of police, past the tense car ride filled with fingers rubbing together and hammers snapping closed, past leaping out of the car as soon as he heard the explosion, and past running around until he saw the hand clamped across his subordinate's face.

There.

Stop right there.

That was what had him rushing for the liquor cabinet and draining three glasses before he could breathe. That was what had him slumped on the couch and glaring at the wall, glancing occasionally at the clock to see if he could go to work yet. That was what had him scared out of him mind.

He remembered the sheer and utter panic that flooded him as he saw the bright red coat flare up behind the blonde as Scar let that damned transmutation take hold and Edward was blown backward off his feet. Blood spurted everywhere, painting the shops and streets around him. His small subordinate landed with a sickening thud on the cobblestone paving, sprawled out like a forgotten rag doll. He ran forward, forgetting that it was _Scar_ standing not three yards away, focused only on getting to the limp teen laying in the street.

"Ed! _Edward!_" He'd called, stumbling to a halt right in front of the blonde and then freezing.

Dead.

There was no way he was alive.

Roy stared down at the body in shock, ignoring the mutilated chin and throat, staring only at the closed eyes that used to hide fiery gold. Fiery gold that he had seen not two hours ago…gone. Blown out like a candle.

He dropped to his knees in a daze, blood immediately soaking into the deep blue military fabric. This was his fault, all of it-his fault.

His gloved fingers brushed against Edward's flesh arm, and it was when Roy was just in the middle of trying to shake the boy awake that he woke up.

And here he was, counting cracks in the wall and waiting to go to work while drinking whiskey on his couch. He took another sip just as he reached twenty-three and set the glass down next to the bottle on twenty-four.

Twenty-five.

Twenty-six.

Twenty-nine…

Damn.

Lost count again.

He muffled the burp that slipped past his lips and wearily got to his feet. Five o'clock was a good time to head to work, right?

He half-heartedly pulled on his uniform, locating his other sock and tugging it on before his boots. His hair was still ruffled, and his uniform shirt was untucked, but he'd shown up looking worse before. He hastily shoved the liquor back into the cabinet and cleaned up the glass he'd gotten out before stepping out onto the landing and locking the door behind him.

When he got to the garage, he wasn't surprised his car was broken, climbing out and tucking the keys in his pockets as he hit the streets. A few early morning joggers waved to him as he passed by and he nodded back. One woman shot him a sly smile, but he just wasn't feeling it today and she jogged by without a response from him.

He arrived at HQ before he'd really meant to, walking through the gates and waving to the sergeant on guard before jogging up the steps and shouldering open the door. The receptionist shot him a smile that he tried to return before trudging down the halls and somehow ending up in front of his door.

Hawkeye was already there (no surprise) along with Falman and Feury, who were chatting quietly at their desks before he came in. Roy ignored their stares of shock and confusion, shuffling past Hawkeye and fumbling open the door. She followed him a few steps and then paused in the doorway, watching him collapse against his desk. His head hit the wood with a thump, followed by his shoulders and arms.

He sat there, boneless, for a couple minutes before the Second Lieutenant cleared her throat and said, "The Elrics will be here in a few hours. I would prefer it if you looked at least a _little_ presentable when they arrive."

With that, she closed the door and let him contemplate in peace.

-O-O-O-O-O-

Edward slid a hand across his face and stumbled down the train steps, feet dragging wearily behind him. His mouth widened in a yawn and he stretched his arms above his head with a satisfying _crack_. A groan slipped out as he rubbed his sore neck with an automail hand.

"Ngh, _Alll!"_ He whined, dragging out the name while staring up at his younger brother. "Why do we have to be here so damn _early?_"

Alphonse sighed behind him, armor clanking as he stepped down onto the station platform. Bright red eyes shot the blonde an exasperated glance as he set the tattered suitcase down and observed the clock above the station house. "It's not _that_ early, Brother. Only ten o'clock."

Ed huffed at him, rolling his eyes and stretching his arms in front of him this time. "_Only _ten o'clock-yeah, right." He too glanced at the clock and then groaned. "The Colonel's gonna have my ass if I'm late for a report again. Better make this fast."

He trudged forward, leaving Al to pick up the suitcase and hurry after him, tinny voice calling out for the shorter boy. "Brother! Wait up!"

Edward didn't slow, trusting his brother to cut through the crowd quickly and catch up by the time he reached the street.

There was another reason he wanted to get this over with.

It was irrational as hell and stupid to boot, but these stupid _nightmares _wouldn't let him sleep, and that was something he _needed_, dammit!

He pushed around a few station-goers and dodged under a man waving around newspapers before he reached the sunlit streets of Central. A few people brushed by him as they hurried to get to their jobs, and it was the rushing of a nearby car that sent Ed into flash backs.

_Ed was standing there, watching as someone grinned evilly at the Colonel, striding forward menacingly as Roy helplessly tried to ignite wet gloves. "Mustang, look out!"_

_But it was no use. The man was shoving Mustang forward just as the car came barreling around the corner. The driver couldn't stop in time, shouting as he hit the Colonel full speed. Edward shot forward, but there was nothing he could do to save the crushed body of his commanding officer._

"_Mustang!"_

He shook the thoughts out of his head, looking up just as Al reached him and nodding when his brother made to call a cab. "Thanks, Al."

"No problem, Brother…Hey, Ed…" He started, turning to face the blonde while waving a hand absent mindedly in the street.

"Yeah, Al?"

"You seem kind of…distracted…lately. I noticed on the train that you were all jittery until you fell asleep."

Ed stared up at his younger brother, conflicting emotions evident in his gaze. Should he tell Alphonse about the dreams or just brush him off? After all, it wasn't like there was _really _anything to worry about.

He was saved from making the decision by the taxi that drove up, parking on the curb while the cabbie yelled at them to get in. Ed clambered in first, squeezing into the corner while telling the driver to head towards HQ. As soon as Al squeezed in, the driver merged easily back into traffic and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.

Ed tried not to think about the nightmares, _about Mustang sprawled out on the street while Ed tried to shake him awake, the dark hair splayed out and eyes unmoving beneath closed lids._ He sighed heavily and let his head lean against the window until they arrived. He squeezed out after Alphonse, letting the metal boy lead the way up the white marble steps and into the grand foyer. The receptionist smiled prettily at them, saying hello and asking how they'd been.

Ed replied with a distracted wave and a 'good', leaving Al to take care of the polite stuff while he stalked down the halls.

This would be quick, just pop in, say hello to the crew, turn in the report and make sure Mustang _wasn't_ dead, splayed out in the road because some moron had shoved him in front of a car. He slowly gathered speed until he was running down the halls, brushing by sergeants and generals alike until he found himself in front of the office door.

Ed took a moment to collect himself, shaking his head and straightening his coat. The door creaked open loudly as he stepped through, announcing his arrival with squeals and groans. He slammed it shut with his foot, grinning widely at the men (and woman) seated in various desks around the room.

"Hey, Edward! How's it going?" Breda asked, standing up and slapping him across the back. Havoc and Feury greeted him in much the same manner while Hawkeye and Falman opted for polite handshakes. Ed greeted them each in turn, answered all their question and smiled at the right times until he could break away and knock on the Colonel's door. He heard shuffling paper and a faint cough before a deep voice said "Come in."

He opened the door, this time with no squeals or creaks and easily strode into the office, golden eyes searching around the room until he found Mustang seated at his desk.

There were a few moments of tense silence in which both men evaluated each other, Mustang checking to make sure Ed's face was still there while Ed verified the Colonel was still whole and well. (Both were relieved to find that the other was indeed _not_ bleeding or sprawled out on the street, dead.) The silence stretched until Ed shifted a bit and Mustang cleared his throat.

"Fullmetal. I see that your mission was a…success." He said after a slight pause, and Ed nodded slowly, edging further into the room and drawing the papers out of his jacket pocket.

"I've got the report here."

"Ah, good. You can just leave it on my desk…"

Ed resisted the urge to twitch at the tense atmosphere, walking forward and placing the rumpled files on the desk. The silence came back with a vengeance, taking over the room until the awkward feeling grew and grew and grew and-

"Fullmetal-"

"Hey, Mustang-"

The both paused and glanced at each other before Ed ducked his head and nodded at Mustang. "Good to see you again, Colonel."

Mustang grinned and inclined his head in return. "Good to see you too…shrimp."

And the offices rang again with the shouts of one Edward Elric while Roy Mustang smirked in the background.

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_A/N. Whew! I feel much better about that one. What about you guys?_

_-Shadow_


	2. Allowance

**A/N. Well, I'm awfully sorry for the long wait guys! *glances over at computer and realizes other stories _still_ haven't been updated* Ooo, better get started on those sometime soon…*sheepish smile* well, I've got this one, and ya'll probably haven't read the others, so no biggie. Here we go, second chapter, story _Asymmetrical_ belongs solely to Destined to Repeat, who has been kind enough to lend it to me for the time being.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own FMA or little snippets in beginning. **

_2) When Ed joined the military, he had shouted, insisted, sworn that he was doing this strictly, one-hundred-percent for Al, and he would never ever ever think of his commanding officer as anything more than a means to an end. Half a year later, he was blushing angrily and asking for an allowance._

-Destined to Repeat

Ed frowned.

"Dang it Mustang, stop laughing!" But Mustang was doubled over at his desk, and Breada wasn't even bothering to hide the howls of laughter that robbed him of his breath. Even Hawkeye had cracked a smile. Ed's cheeks started to flush, but at least he wasn't cursing the Lieutenant Colonel out or breaking things…Yet. But if the Colonel continued as he had for the past four minutes and three seconds, Ed wouldn't be able to keep from doing something, especially since he had manages to keep Al from coming along this one time.

"Mustang, I swear if you don't shut up _right now_ I'll tell every single woman in Eastern Command that you're married and have three kids." That shut the Colonel up pretty fast. (Breada was an entirely different matter, as he looked like he might die from lack of oxygen.) Roy tried to draw his composure back by recalling events long before this. (Six months, almost to the day, to be precise.)

_Ed glared._

_ "Don't look down at me, you jerk. The one and only reason I'm here is because of Al, and the only reason I would _ever_ listen to you was because you had something I needed. Got it?" He'd asked. Mustang had smirked, glad to have someone with a bit of fight left in them on his team. He nodded sagely at the fiery young blonde alchemist, feigning a serious attitude._

_ "I can believe that." He'd said, and Ed had nodded._

_ "Good." He'd glared around the office then, meeting each of his fellow subordinate's eyes before turning and storming out of the room. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him and Al, who he'd picked up from the front desk where he'd been talking with the guard , Breada spoke up._

_ "Kid's got guts, Boss." Mustang had nodded again, an amused smirk on his face._

_ "He won't be that hard on us after a while."_

They had finally reached that point, six months later, when Ed wouldn't have such high walls coming into the military offices so that Mustang and his team could tell when Ed was worried about something, and not just when he was pissed. They could tell when he was hiding something and when he wasn't. They could tell all sorts of little things about Ed that no one who hadn't spent six months with the irritable teen wouldn't have been.

So when the blonde came in sans Al, they couldn't help but become a little on edge. The red blush creeping up the side of his neck and his restless hands informed the soldiers that nothing had happened to the younger Elric but they were all curious as to why Ed had come to the office all. (It was a well known fact that Fullmetal hated walking _so far_ to the large white building.)Because of the unexpected visit and the odd sight of a flustered Fullmetal, all of Mustang's subordinates had quieted down enough so that they could hear what Ed and Roy were talking about.

Almost as soon as the words had come out of Ed's mouth, the whole office had erupted into a cacophony of laud laughs.

"Um, I was just wondering… isn't there some sort of military budget I'm supposed to be getting?"

"Fullmetal, did you just ask for an allowance?"

**A/N. …yeah. That's kinda sad. The next one will be better, I swear! This one was just kind of self explanatory, but the next one will be better. Promise!**

**-Shadow**


	3. Coat

_A/N. Sorry for such a long wait! We've been getting ready for exams on my end, and it's taken up a lot of my time- not that I'm trying to make excuses or anything. This one has definitely been a challenging one to write, as it took me a while to find a good angle to work on. But now, I'm pleased to announce that I have found it and posted this for your enjoyment._

_Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist does not belong to me. Asymmetrical belongs to Destined to Repeat. The remaining stuff is all mine._

_3) Roy was never particularly keen on the vivid red coat that Ed seemed so attached to. It was much too bright, too distinctive and trademark Fullmetal Alchemist for Roy's liking. It occurred to him that if anybody wanted to track Ed down, it'd be laughably easy: With that completely indiscreet, neon sign of a coat, he was a walking target. But even Roy had to admit that it came in useful sometimes—especially being able to drag Ed back by the hood whenever he tried to stomp away._

Roy stared at Ed, or rather, Ed's back, and cocked his head. In the dull black and white of the snow covered Central, it wasn't excessively hard to pick out the bright red of Fullmetal's coat. It was like the blond was a walking sign, declaring loudly: Fullmetal Alchemist-right here! It was very bold and flashy. Roy doubted that anyone in Amestris, much less the world, had a coat quite as abnormal as Ed's. He was beginning to wonder about the possibilities of forcing Ed to wear the military uniform, not so that he would blend in, but so that people would be less likely to attack him, when the blonde suddenly froze.

Snow billowed around the pair, sending Ed's braid flying around and Roy's coat tails fluttering in the wind. Roy shivered and glared down at his young subordinate.

"Any particular reason why we've stopped, Fullmetal?" He drawled, tucking his hands into his pockets and burrowing a little more into the collar of his coat. Ed tilted his head, turning marginally to face Mustang.

"You hear that?"

"What?"

The footsteps muffled by the thick layer of snow behind them were hard to make out.

"That, idiot! And stop staring at me. It's really freaking me out."

"Well, you're talking to me."

"Jerk." Mustang smirked at the blonde before turning to face whoever was attempting to sneak up on them.

But there was no one there. Mustang turned back to Ed.

"You're sure you heard something?"

"Yeah, didn't you?" Ed scoffed, tossing his head. Roy glared.

"What if I didn't?" Ed looked genuinely concerned for a moment before shrugging.

"Whatever."

They both continued to walk forward, heads bent against the snow that was picking up rapidly. Mustang kept glancing at Ed's coat, wondering if it could still be spotted in this foul of weather. Ed would glare at him whenever he caught the Colonel looking at him and then turn to stomp a bit faster.

"I still don't see why we have to walk together, Colonel Jerk-face." Mustang glanced up at the slumped shoulders and pretended that he'd imagined a hint of something that wasn't disgust in his voice.

"You should know-We've still got that serial killer on the loose. There's something wrong with all of the psychos in Central wanting to kill State Alchemists." At this, Ed laughed.

"Dang right, Colonel. Dang right. They're all a bunch of copy cats. Can't get one with a bit of originality yet…but Hughes won't let me on the case, so I don't know anything."

"Well, Jack Sullivan isn't someone brush off. He taught himself alchemy, and he didn't quite do it right."

"You got something against people who teach themselves alchemy, Mustang?" Ed retorted hotly. Mustang smirked irksomely at his subordinate while he kept walking.

"Not at all. Just the short ones."

"Hey!" He shouted, hair and coat billowing in the wind, "_Who you calling so short-"_ Ed stopped mid rant, and Roy paused at the incredulity of the action.

"What's this? Edward Elric has stopped a rant about being short?" Mustang declared loudly, a hint of laughter coloring his voice. When still no response came, Roy turned, expecting to come face to face with Ed tripped on the ground with snow in his mouth, or Fullmetal glaring heatedly at him

What he was not expecting to see was Fullmetal struggling with someone who had his hand clamped around the boy's neck.

"Get off of him!" Mustang roared, lunging forward while snapping his fingers.

Nothing.

Mustang snapped again, still running for the pair, but nothing was happening. Sullivan, who was a big man and probably should have only been approached if one was Armstrong, turned to glare menacingly at the black haired Lieutenant Colonel.

"You should keep a closer eye on your subordinates, Lieutenant." The large man rumbled deeply. Mustang shrugged, trying hard not to look at the panicking Ed while he reached into his pocket to switch gloves. _Stupid weather…_

"I mean really, with that coat that sticks out like a sore thumb, it's not hard to keep track of him." _Stupid coat!_ Mustang thought furiously, trying to shove his fingers into his pair of dry gloves.

"I've been trying to get him to change for a while, but he's just so _short_ that anything I say just flies right over his head."

At the jab at his height, Ed tried to buck against the derail killer to lunge at Mustang which was what Roy had been going for, but the only thing Fullmetal got was a fist to the face as his neck was pressed further and further into the hard stone wall his head was slammed against.

"You should be familiar with my work by now, Colonel Mustang. Do you remember how all of your fellow State Alchemists have died?" Roy shuddered, mind finally being drawn to something he had been dreading thinking of since now.

"Yes."

"Care to tell me how?"

Ed's eyes went wide, having never heard how all of the victims had been taken out, and not really wanting to be bothered with the gruesome details. Mustang avoided Ed's eyes, attempting to find the thumb hole of his right glove.

"First you nearly strangle them to death." Ed gasped loudly, breath coming shorter and faster.

"Then, you break all of their ribs." Ed winced as a hand pressed against his chest.

"And then…" Ed was visibly shaking now, terrified of how he was going to die, since Mustang obviously couldn't perform alchemy just then.

"Then what?" Sullivan prodded gleefully, his hand tightening on Ed's windpipe so that Ed's hand began to droop.

"Then…" Mustang bowed his head, watching as white peeked out of his pocket.

"What comes next, Colonel?" The anticipation in his voice was sick, and Mustang wanted it gone.

"Then you die!" he bellowed, and the only forewarning of the explosion to come was the snapping of fingers before a wall of fire erupted out of nowhere and engulfed the murdered. He screamed as his face burned and he released Ed to claw at his flaming cheeks. Ed dropped to the ground, coughing harshly. Roy snapped again, and then grabbed Ed by the collar and began dragging him away. The boy spluttered indignantly, face still red from lack of breath, but he somehow managed to form words.

"Mustang…you…jerk". He ground out, but the older man was still running away from the screaming murder and frantically looking around for something. Ed struggled to keep up, and was beginning to worry when the Colonel wouldn't slow down at his outbursts. "Colonel, would you slow down? Where are we going? What's happening? Why did we run? _Colonel!" _Roy froze in the middle of the snow covered road, shocked and marginally concerned that there was absolutely _no one_ on the street that night. Had there been something on the news about Sullivan announcing where he would be? No, Hughes would have told him about it and made sure that he stayed away. Ed was shouting in his ear again.

"_What the heck is going on Colonel?" _ He shrieked, and Roy could hear the fear lining his voice.

"We need to find a phone booth. Got to call Hughes. And lose that freaking coat, Fullmetal!" He ordered, head whipping from side to side as he tried to remember which direction the phone booth was in.

"Like heck I will! It's freezing out here! And why can't you take care of him on your own? There's two of us!" Roy paused long enough to look Ed seriously in the eye and speak to him.

"Edward, this guy…the two of us won't be enough." Ed was shocked into silence, and Roy took advantage of this by dragging Ed along, this time by the arm, and sprinting down the street.

"Where are you, Flame Alchemist? You shouldn't run off like that, not when we're right in the middle of something! And you took my toy too!" Ed shuddered as the voice of Jack Sullivan rang through the streets, and Roy added more length to his stride, practically dragging Edward along with him. The blonde was attempting to look behind him, but Mustang kept jerking him forward, keeping him from looking at the serial killer.

They turned down one street, and then another, doubled back behind one alley before they kicked up snow while sprinting across another. Roy could see his breath clouding before his eyes, messing with his sight before he saw it-_there! Under the lamppost!_ Ed saw it too and pulled his feet under him so that he could run to the bright red (too red) phone booth. Roy threw open the door and lunged for the phone, dialing the necessary numbers that would patch him through to Central Headquarters.

"_Hello?"_ Came the weary voice of a late night worker. Roy glanced at the clock (ten oh nine) and decided politeness was out of the question.

"Patch me through to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes!" he ordered, turning so that he could keep his eyes on the street to look for Sullivan. Ed was outside, shivering as snow piled around his shoulders while he too kept an eye out for the killer.

"_I'm sorry sir, but I'll need you to give be the appropriate codes before I can patch you through."_ Mustang twisted back to the phone cradle and screamed into the receiver.

"_You'd better patch me through to Colonel Hughes right now, miss! I don't give a crap about any protocols you've got! Jack Sullivan is hunting me and my subordinate down as we speak, so you'd better get Hughes on the line and tell him to send all the troops he can find over to the square as fast as he can!" _Roy didn't notice Ed flinch at the volume of his voice, nor the way he continued to shiver as the terrified lady connected Mustang to Hughes, saying that a 'very pissed man' was waiting on the other line.

"_Hey, Roy! What's up?" _He asked. Roy stared down at the receiver incredulously.

"_Sullivan is hunting Ed and me down! Hughes, you'd better get men over here fa-"_

_ "_Mustang! Where are you?" A singsong voice called out from somewhere disturbingly close, and Roy dropped the receiver, frozen. Ed had stiffened as well, and neither noticed the tiny voice floating up from the receiver. "_Roy? Roy! What's happening? Roy!"_

Mustang leapt into action as soon as he saw the shadows across the snow, leaping out of the phone booth and grabbing Fullmetal across the neck while he pulled the two of them into an alley just across the street. Ed remained silent the whole time, allowing Roy to shove him behind a dumpster and the follow him as they heard Sullivan's feet echo through the streets.

"Oh Mustang, where are you? I'm missing that blonde haired kid you had! I'm sure he would have screamed quite loudly for me!" Ed shuddered next to Roy, and the man only assumed it was from fear.

But Roy should have learned never to judge Edward Elric, because one moment the blonde was next to him, the next, he was charging forward, only a few yards from the entrance of the alley. Roy shot out and barely managed to snag Ed by the hood, grateful, for once, that the boy was wearing his flashy coat.

"_Not this time, Ed!"_ he hissed, dragging his subordinate back behind the dumpster. Ed struggled silently, but Mustang kept a firm grip on the blonde's hood, waiting and waiting and waiting and-

"Hello, Jack Sullivan! You seem to have made a wrong turn from the prison cells!" came the booming voice of Alex Louis Armstrong. Ed glared over at Roy, and the elder sighed before releasing his hood.

"Fine." Ed then bolted from his hiding place, and Roy followed at a slower pace, listening to Ed begin whaling on the man, screaming obscenities the whole time before joining in.

It was only after Sullivan had been knocked unconscious and most of the men who had arrived (all of Mustang's crew, Armstrong, Hughes and an assortment of foot soldiers) that Mustang rounded on Ed, a furious expression on his face, and began yelling at Ed like he hadn't been able to when the blonde had been about to sneak off.

"EDWARD ELRIC!" The boy in question began to turn heel and run, but for the second time, Roy was happy Ed had his coat on as he latched firmly onto the hood and gave Ed the reprimand he deserved.

"_You're a freaking idiot, Fullmetal! Do you know-"_

And Hughes was chuckling in the background as Ed valiantly tried to stand up against a furious Roy Mustang.

_A/N. Whew. Done! I hope it wasn't to awkward or didn't jump too much. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, and any advice for future chapters, something you wanted to see with one of the prompts, is welcomed as well! Please review!_

_-Shadow_


	4. Darker

_A/N. There won't be so long a wait this time! I typed this one up as soon as I finished the other one…well…a few days after…ok, a week, but still. It's the thought that counts, or something like that. Yeah._

_Disclaimer: Not mine. Ed's not mine, the snippet at the beginning is Destined to Repeat's. Everything else…I'm not sure about, but I'm pretty positive it's…mine. _

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4) It was more than just the Colonel's teasing that set Ed off so much; it was the look he gave him, the gaze that cut straight through all his defenses and forced him to spit out all of his secrets. It was the distant but disturbingly certain knowledge that Roy recognized the darker part of him, the side that Ed never dared to show even his little brother.

* * *

Ed grabbed his automail with his left hand, rubbing the wrist joint back and forth as his agitation grew. Mustang smirked over his pile of unfinished work and continued to push the envelope.

"I wonder who bothered to lean down far enough to do that to you, eh, Fullmetal? Or was it a kid the same size as you?" Ed flinched a little, reaching up to lightly trace the large purple bruise cresting his cheek bone. And he remembered a man leering over him, and a knife gleaming in fluorescent lighting, and _are you ready to die, boy?_

"Shut up, Colonel!" He warned, a hard edge creeping into his voice as he repeated the same statement for the seventh time that day.

"It's alright, Fullmetal. If you don't want to admit that you were beat by a child, then you don't have to put it in your report."

"Colonel," The warning tone was more prominent in Ed's voice as he remembered the little girl cowering in the corner _Ed, you're going to save me, right?_ He'd promised her.

"No, really, Fullmetal. I don't think anyone will care if you leave the kid out."

"Shut up!" Ed bolted to his feet (the little girl was crying in Ed's arms as blood poured out of her tiny stomach and Ed was trying not to flinch as blows rained down on him from above, _it's ok, Lacy, you're gonna be okay_) Roy froze at his desk where he had previously been about to laugh when Ed blushingly admitted that he _had_ been beaten by a child.

"Fullmetal-"

"No! Just shut up! Don't say another word about that kid!" _Lacy was crying and Ed was shaking as her breathing slowed._ Roy started laughing again, because Ed had just admitted to there being a kid.

"So you're saying there _was_ a kid, Fullmetal?"

"Yes! She was a little girl! Lacy!"

"A girl, Fullmetal!"

"Yes!" _A sweet little girl with bright red hair who'd managed to smile when Ed was first captured and brought down to the basement- "What's your name? Mine's Lacy." She smiled brightly as he tried to grin at her. "I'm Ed…"_

"I never would have thought. And where is she now?"

"Dead!"_ "G'bye, Ed. I'll see you real soon, okay? And I'll talk to Nina for you!"_ Tears slipped out from Ed's eyes as he remembered telling the young girl about another young girl with blue eyes and braids, saying how Lacy would get along well if Nina had still been alive.

Roy froze, and Ed wondered whether he should be more frustrated that it had taken him this long, or that the look that had suddenly come across Mustang's face made it seem as if he knew exactly what had happened in that basement.

"Ed, what happened while you were away?"

"It's in my report." Ed didn't even bother to comment on the fact that Roy had used his first name.

"Who was the girl, Fullmetal?" Ed glanced up warily at Mustang, who looked a bit sympathetic and worried and annoyingly _knowing_, but maybe it was because of that expression that he sat down on the couch near Mustang's desk and began talking.

"She was a little red head. Told me her name was Lacy, and that she couldn't remember how long she'd been down there."

"Where?"

"In the basement."

"Who's?"

"Avery's." Mustang looked incredulously at him.

"You got into his basement?"

"…After a fashion." It was Mustang's turn to get frustrated as he stood up and slammed his hands onto his desk.

"Frick Fullmetal! Just tell me what happened without messing with words!"

"I got caught." Mustang teetered where he was standing before collapsing into his chair.

"_What?"_

"Yeah. I was staying in this inn. They originally weren't going to let me stay at all-military, 'n all that, but then the daughter put in a good word for me. Nice girl." The statement was so out of place Roy started, but then Ed was continuing.

"I was sleeping one moment, and then I wake up being dragged out of a car by a masked man."

"Avery?" Ed nodded and Roy motioned for him to continue.

"He threw me in the basement after he took off my arm and I met Lacy. Cutest little girl I've seen. She reminded me a lot of Nina." Ed said in a quiet voice, and Roy suddenly knew where this story was going.

"What happened to her?"

"Avery left us down there for a few days, and when he did come down-" Ed shuddered, because he came down _like a ghost, and Ed didn't know he was there until he was right behind him and shoving him out of the way. "What's going on?" Ed shouted, lunging forward to get next to Ni-Lacy, and crying out when the blade Avery was carrying carved down through his arm and into the little girl's chest. Her cry of pain still rung in his ears_

"When he came down he had a knife…and he was going for Lacy…and I tried to stop him…but he stabbed through my arm and…and…" Ed's breath caught in his throat and his windpipe didn't want to let the words back from their prison.

"Ed…"

"She died in my arms. I could feel her blood all over me, Colonel!" He cried out, pressing his face brutally into his hands. "I couldn't save her! _I was right there!"_

"_Ed! It hu-hu-hurts, Ed! Wh-why does it h-h-hurt, E-Ed?" she'd whimpered and Ed was trying to keep Avery from hurting the little girl any more as life poured out of her stomach. "It'll stop hurting soon, Lacy, I promise!" Because he knew the little girl wouldn't be getting out of the basement no matter what he did. "I promise, and then you won't hurt every again. You can see your sister again, you know? And you can meet Nina!" she looked up at him questioningly. "I'm going where N-Nina went?" she asked breathily, and Ed tried not to cry on her small face. "Yeah, you're going where Nina is." "Oh. Then that's ok. I'll tell her you said hi, right?"_

Ed was crying now, silent tears streaming down his face so fast he didn't even try to stop them.

"Fullmetal…"

"And you know what Avery was doing while he was beating me over her head body?" Ed questioned harshly though his tears, words catching as he fought to force the right emotions into them. Roy shook his head silently.

"He was laughing! _Laughing!"_ _"Too bad, Fullmetal Alchemist! There's another one you couldn't save. I heard about that other girl through the grapevine. You suck at keeping people alive, don't you?"_

"He was laughing over her dead body, and I…I…I…" Ed was heaving in breaths, trying to force out the words that couldn't seem to get out fast enough. Roy held up a hand, glad that Al was mysteriously gone, although he had a pretty good idea why.

"Ed, stop." The blonde stopped trying to speak, instead letting the tears fall down his face in thick torrents as he turned to lock despondent tawny eyes on Roy's onyx ones.

"You don't have to tell me what happened next. And I don't think this mission needs a report, Fullmetal. I won't turn it in to the higher ups." He said, tapping the manila folder placed neatly in the middle of his desk. Ed looked curiously at Roy, eyes searching Roy's curiously.

"Y-you won't tell?" He asked, and he became a little frustrated when Roy shook his head with understanding in his eyes. He despised how Roy could figure out what had happened without him even saying.

But it was also good to know there was someone besides Alphonse who could figure him out.

Especially someone he could reveal his faults to.

Roy somehow seemed to fill a gap that Alphonse couldn't, because how was he supposed to reveal to his younger brother the awful things he had to do sometimes?

But Mustang understood.

Mustang understood everything.

"Dismissed, Fullmetal." Ed cocked his head, tears slowing marginally as he stood and saluted, giving Mustang a sign that he had just broken down another of Ed's impenetrable walls. Roy watched the young blonde scrub furiously at his eyes, clap and erase the water stains on his clothes and plaster a smile on his face so that Al wouldn't be able to tell.

"Bye, Mustang. And…"

"Dismissed, Fullmetal." Ed nodded, taking the hint that Mustang didn't need to hear him apologize. Roy watched the red coat vanish around the door way, a voice call out "Hey, Al," and his subordinates talk with the infamous Fullmetal as he flipped open the manila folder and began reading.

_Feb. 7. 18._

_Major Edward Elric_

_Avery Case_

_Report follows._

_._

_._

_._

_Today, I killed Avery Jackson by stabbing him repeatedly with my automail blade…_

Roy froze at the sight of those words, attempted to look around at Fullmetal, and then decided it was better not to. He slipped on a pristine white

glove, and then the vanilla folder was a pile of ashes.

No one else needed to know the darker side of Edward Elric, because to everyone else, Edward Elric wasn't allowed to _have_ a darker side.

_

* * *

_

A/N. I'm sure this one was confusing, but Ed was investigating a man, and he got captured and held prisoner with a little girl, who was stabbed and killed. Al wasn't kidnapped with Ed, so when Ed escaped after killing the other guy, he didn't tell him about the girl. Roy figured out before reading the report that that Ed had somehow killed Avery and didn't want Ed to have to say it.

_So..yeah. I know some of you wanted a funny one, but I didn't think I could with this one without making it stupid, like Ed's darker side was playing pranks or something…Yeah._

_Please review!_

_-Shadow. _


	5. Secrets

_5) Edward Elric was not good at keeping secrets. If it involved his brother or anything else that he deemed serious to enough to guard with his life, he would do so. But any secret that weighed less than unquestionably essential was quickly disregarded, and any idiot could get it out of him, no problem. Unfortunately for him, Roy Mustang's ambition to use any measures to get Fuhrer was estimated to be Only Slightly Important. There were many times that the Colonel only just stopped Ed in time before he blurted it all to the wrong person and ruined everything. He just hoped that nobody thought it was odd that sometimes in the middle of Edward's sentences, the Colonel would casually slap his hand over the blonde's mouth and drag him away for an impromptu yelling-at._

Five soldiers belonging to one Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, as well as the famed Flame Alchemist himself, all stared down at their doom, which happened to be written in standardized military font on the Colonel's desk.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Breada asked, gaze mesmerized by the order placed neatly on Mustang's desk.

"For everything to go to hell? Five minutes." Havoc replied, and Breada snorted.

"I'm going for three and a half."

"Knowing him? Just three." Mustang put in, and the duo discussing the end of their lives nodded.

"Good call boss." Silence fell again, and the six military officers continued to stare horrified at their practical death sentence.

"Is it too late for me to resign?" Fuery asked, only half joking. He was met by stares all across the room and saved from further embarrassment by the familiar heavy clunking that came from the hall.

"_Come on, Brother, he's not that bad."_

_"Like heck he is, Al! He's the worst person in existence!" _All of the officers gathered around Mustang's desk flinched, looking up as one when the reason for their doom stormed into the empty outer office.

"_Where the heck is everyone?"_ Ed shouted, and they heard his uneven stomps lead over to the door before it was kicked off its hinges. "Why are you all in here?"

"We've just gotten some orders from the higher ups, Fullmetal." Roy said, motioning at the paper on his desk. Alphonse trailed after his older brother as the blonde strode over quickly. Shoving aside the uneasy stares he was getting, Ed snatched the paper up and skimmed over it. Once he reached the end, he stared over the top of the order at four cowering soldiers, one slightly ruffled First Lieutenant and a very concerned looking Lieutenant Colonel.

"What's the problem? It's just an office inspection."

"Yeah, but do you know what they _do _at office inspections?" Breda asked, eyes bugging as he stared down at the small blonde.

"They inspect your office?" Roy sent him a glare for the sarcastic tone, but Breada was already commanding the Alchemist's attention, shaking his head sagely.

"Not just that! They interview everyone that works there. _Everyone!"_

"So what the big de-" Ed was cut off from further questioning as several officers knocked and then entered the office. All of Mustang's men scrambled to their desks, standing at attention (well, as much as Hawkeye can 'scramble'.) Ed just cocked his head and squinted his eyes to read the small badge adorning the first man's uniform. "Internal Affairs, huh?" He asked, pushing past Al, who had taken a seat on the Colonel's couch. "What are you here for?"

"I don't see how that's pertinent to you, young boy." Said the tall man gruffly, making to brush aside the blonde.

"Hey! Who do you think you are?"

This was what they'd all been dreading.

Internal Affairs meeting Edward Elric.

They were all doomed.

"As you said yourself, I am Internal Affairs. And who might I be addressing?" Roy dropped his head in his hands, already feeling the headache that came along with the kid.

"Major Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Fullmetal, eh? Mind if we ask you some questions about what goes on around here most days?" The dark haired internal Affairs officer didn't seemed to even notice the obvious hate radiating off of Fullmetal. To his credit, the question seemed to throw Edward off track, dampening his anger at being brushed aside as a common soldier.

"Uh, sure?" Roy and the rest of his soldiers tensed as the IA officer began questioning him right off the bat, sure that their doom was to come sometime in the next few moments.

"How long have you been working here?"

"Five years."

"And how long do you usually stay in Head Quarters?"

"Not long. A week at most, and then I'm out…traveling."

"And what do you do in your travels?" Ed cocked his head while answering the question, eyes darting to the pen held in another IA's hand while he scribbled away.

"Just uh, looking around usually. Inspecting coal mines, quelling rebellions, and uh..and…" Ed trailed off, and Roy noticed the nervous tick Ed had already begun to pick up as the IA officer questioned him.

"And what, Mr. Elric?"

"And stuff like that…What's he doing?" Ed asked, pointing to the man writing down everything he said.

"Why, he's writing down your responses. I thought you'd have been able to figure that out, being a child prodigy and all."

"Could you get him to stop?"

Havoc groaned, sure that because of Edwards's blatant disregard for protocol that they would all get in trouble. But all that happened was-

"Why?"

"It's annoying." The IA officer stared at the blonde for a long moment before shrugging and motioning for the man to put away his pad of paper.

"Alright. We can just record it." The man pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket, clicking it on and waiting for his boss to continue. Ed stared at that too, before seeming to accept it and focus back on the questions.

"Do you usually get breaks in between these…assignments?" the officer asked, and Ed whirled incredulously on Mustang.

"I'm supposed to get _breaks?"_

"Guess that answers that question." Havoc face palmed, already writing up his will in his head.

"Are you comfortable in your work area?" Edward made a face, not completely letting Mustang off the hook.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you mind having to work in the office?"

"Well, I guess I'm never in it, so no." All of the officers in Mustang's office let out a sigh of relief. There was one obstacle avoided.

"And how about the people. Do you mind working with them?"

"Not really, but they get on my nerves sometimes. The Colonel's a real jerk. Are we done yet?" Roy was about to relax, as was everyone else in the room, but then the IA officer held up a hand.

"What do you mean when you say that the Lieutenant Colonel's 'a real jerk'?" He said, air quoting Ed's phrase. The blonde shrugged, oblivious to the tense atmosphere that suddenly sprang up around the room.

"Well, he's an annoying git for one. Always stopping me in the middle of my research to go off on pointless missions that have no real value to the military. And he's always going on about his life's ambition and talking about miniskirts."

"And what would his life's ambition be?" the Internal Affairs officer asked, sending a suspicious glance in Mustang's direction. Roy froze where he was, foot still ifted from taking a step towards Fullmetal. Ed cocked his head again, staring with incredulity and a bit of disdain at the older man.

"You seriously don't know? I thought everyone knew-it's not like it's some big secret. He wants to bemffhmtf-" Ed was cut off by Mustang's hand snaking over his mouth dragging him backwards.

"You know what? I've just realized that Fullmetal's overdue for a shot at the hospital. The nurse said he had to be back on Monday or he could risk infection. I think Friday's pushing it, don't you Ed?" he didn't even bother checking with the boy before turning to smile at the IA. "We'll be back sometime later."

With that, all of Mustang's officers watched the Internal Affairs officers watch their Commanding Officer drag the Fullmetal Alchemist out of the room and down the hall for a _long _conversation. Al poked his head out of the Colonel's office, turning to meet Riza's stare.

"Brother had an injury and he didn't tell me?"

And the officers managed to relax a little for the first time that day.

_A/N. Sorry for the long wait! I so didn't mean to let you guys sit there for so long, and I hope this one wasn't a disappointment. At some point, I'll be going over some of them again. I know I said I'd try and make this one funny, and I did attempt it. I'd like you're opinion on whether I passed or failed…probably the latter. Thank all of you who reviewed! I really appreciate it! Again sorry for the lateness. _

_Next chapter-Entertainment_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I don't own Destined To Repeat's Asymmetrical drabbles, as Destined To repeat owns those. I do own the below chapter that isn't italicized. _


	6. Distraction

_6) It wasn't even a conversation—whenever they needed a distraction, it was always, __always__ Ed. When the teenager finally complained about it, Roy told him matter-of-factly that it was because Ed was always trying to get noticed any way to make up for being so short._

Thursdays were crappy in general, Mustang thought as he signed a paper with a flourish. The pen scratched across the paper noisily, dragging the _g_ in Mustang for an impossibly long stretch. A soft cough from the door paused the pen as it hovered above the next paper to be signed. "Yes, Hawkeye?"

"I have more papers that need your signature, sir. They're for Mason's and Donahue's murders." She added as an afterthought. A gloved hand slid across his face and Mustang allowed his head to fall below his shoulders for a moment. "What about Michaels?"

Hawkeye studied her stack of papers, leafing through the death certificates and case folders piled in her arms. "Mr. Hughes must have them, sir. I'll send word over to Sciezska and have her send the file over tomorrow."

Roy sighed, slowly lifting his head and accepting the thick file of papers she handed to him. They hit the top of the stack of undone papers with a ridiculously loud thump that caused Hawkeye to give him a reprimanding stare. Mustang was grateful that she'd softened it up a bit, already stressed over the four deaths that had occurred a few hours ago. "I'm getting to it."

Riza smiled softly at him. "I'll go get some coffee, sir." She saluted and then left, leaving the Colonel to slump on the desk when the door closed.

He remained that way for several more minutes, eyes slowly drifting closed until a courteous knock preceded Havoc's entrance to the private office. Black eyes opened warily as he stared at his subordinate, lifting his head up. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Um, Boss? Some of the guys are getting a bit…_tense_." He stressed the final word carefully, raising an eyebrow for added measure. Roy stared at his Second Lieutenant carefully, taking in the worn lines around his face and the blood crusting down his right sleeve. He couldn't imagine he looked much better with a long scrape trailing down the side of his face and the dead look in his eyes.

"I can believe that." Roy slowly got up from his chair, pacing around his desk to where Havoc leaned against the door. "Why don't you take a break. Has Fullmetal been in?" He asked, leading the way into the outer office. Breada was glaring at Falman, who looked completely unaware. Feury was slumped over his desk, glasses askew and in danger of completely falling off his face.

"I saw him by the front entrance earlier, boss," Havoc said as he gently nudged Feury awake, chuckling as the dark haired man jumped in his seat. "I'm on it, sir!"

"At ease, Sergeant."

Feury slowly slumped back into the hard backed chair, rubbing beneath his glasses at his eyes. "Sorry, sir, it's… been a long day."

Roy looked around at the long, tense faces, watching the jerking motions that Breada finished his work with and the constant halts in Falman's writing. All of them were ready for the other shoe to fall, waiting for another call to come into the office and drag them from their desks. Mustang thought that his men really didn't get enough breaks. Even Hawkeye had bags under her eyes from the middle-of-the-night calls and late hours. He smiled softly at the exhausted men, watching as Havoc tactfully ignored his suggestion to take a break by dropping into his chair silently and pulling another stack of paperwork towards him.

"Would any of you mind going to get Fu-" All eyes flickered up as Mustang's query was halted by a door crashing open.

The first thing they saw was a large suit of armor, glinting in the fluorescent office lights. The fourteen year old inside the metal case lifted a sheepish hand in greeting before bending down to reprimand the small blonde in front of him. "Really, Brother, there was no need to break down the door."

"What? I didn't break it! Look at that door, Al. Does it look broken to you?" The five men milling about aimlessly perked up a little at the irritated tone of the older brother.

"Hey there, chief! What brings you here?"

Ed glared over at Breada, an annoyed glint lighting his eye. "The Colonel there decided it would be brilliant if we," he motioned to Al and himself, "went to inspect the mines down South."

"And?" Havoc asked, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the desk. He smiled easily at the rant building up in the small teenager.

"You know how hot it is in those mines? Seventy-freaking-five degrees! _Underground!_" The blonde exploded, arms wind-milling behind him in exaggeration. "My whole arm nearly burned off!"

Breada chuckled at his desk where he had slowly lifted himself up from his slump and was adjusting a few papers. "Well, you're here now." He pointed out.

Ed whirled on him, a dangerous spark in his eyes. "No thanks to you! You know how they feel about the military?"

"Judging from your tone, they dislike military presence quite a lot." Falman put in, and Mustang was hard pressed not to snicker at the death glare Ed gave the taller man, watching as the sixteen year old stalked over to him.

"You bet they did! As soon as I pulled out that _stupid pocket watch_ they practically threw a riot! They even had friggin _pitchforks!"_ Mustang noticed that the blonde absentmindedly rubbed at his left arm, and Al ducked his head a little, but then Hawkeye glided in, tray in hand. She nearly fell over Ed, who had paced wildly back in front of the door. "Oh. Sorry there, Ed. I nearly didn't see you."

Mustang was laughing before Ed had managed to even begin spluttering. The blonde motioned wildly around for several moments, muttering incoherently before he erupted. "_Who are you calling so small you'd have to put under a microscope to see? I'm not short! You guys are just ridiculously tall!"_

Mustang watched Riza smile, easily gliding past the irate teenager and letting him tire himself out on other subordinates while she handed her superior his coffee. "Your drink, sir." She said, adding an official air to it all.

"Ah. Thank you, Lieutenant." Roy said, accepting the cup and taking a long drink. "Excellent, as always."

"Thank you, sir." They stood for a minute, looking around awkwardly until a muffled snigger brought them back to the office.

"-_And are you guys even friggin listening to me? What, is it that I'm so short the sound waves don't _reach_ you or something? Are you all deaf? I've told you a dozen times I'm not short!"_

"Of course not, Fullmetal." Roy said, and Ed glowered at him, fire in his eyes.

"Screw you, Mustang." He snarled, turning heel and storming out of the room. Hawkeye looked like she could put a bullet between his eyes as the door slammed closed behind the two brothers, but one look around at the suddenly bright faces of his subordinates had Roy reaching out a telling her to let it go.

* * *

It was unusual for Eastern Command to be quiet, but then again, it was unusual for there to have been a shooting on the _grounds_ of the military base. Seven killed and thirteen injured. Hawkeye was among the latter, leaving the private office of Roy Mustang with a sole occupant. The lights were dimmed, and the Lieutenant Colonel stared down at his bare hands, watching as first they were splayed out on the table and then moved to twist around themselves before wandering across his desk helplessly.

Helpless.

Just as he had been a mere hours ago, watching as his favored subordinate crumpled to the ground, a bullet in her side and a cry on her lips. He recalled the easy grace with which she fell and how still she remained while her blood slowly stained the sidewalk red. He didn't even have to shout before the rest of his subordinated had surrounded their CO and fallen comrade, weapons lifted and daring any of the nine men who had stormed Eastern Command to get any closer.

Now he sat, alone and not a little bit broken in his office while his men remained silent outside. It stayed quiet like that for minutes that felt like hours until Mustang heard the soft _creak_ of one of the office chairs being relieved of its burden and the slight _pat-a-tat_ of military shoes making their way towards the office door. He waited for the customary knock before lifting his head to stare with red-rimmed eyes at Jean Havoc.

The Second Lieutenant looked old beyond his ears with his face drawn and somber and the usual smile and cigarette gone from his mouth. He padded slowly into the room, head bowed in grief as he stood before Mustang's desk. "Sir, I…" he couldn't find the words to apologize for his mistake, the way he'd left his superior unguarded for a moment to chase after another criminal, forcing Hawkeye to swing wide and protect two times the space she should have. "I'm sor-"

"I don't want to hear it, Lieutenant." Mustang growled out, slamming his hands on the desk and standing up. Havoc flinched visibly, curling in a little before straightening and facing the Colonel, ready to take his punishment. "You made a mistake-and a stupid on at that- but you were doing what you thought was right, and I can't blame you for that. No one can." His voice broke, and he fell back into his chair, gripping his hair tightly between two bare hands.

"Boss…"

"Tell the boys I'm taking the day. I'll drop by, see Hawkeye, and then I'll be back tomorrow. You can all go home when you like." Mustang seemed to pull a complete one-eighty, snatching his coat off the chair as he leapt to his feet and strode determinedly towards the door.

"Boss, wait up!" Havoc cried, running after the dark haired man as he stormed out the door. Thankfully, the Colonel paused at all of the white faces looking up at him, the pallid, ashen tone that adorned all of his subordinate's features. Roy's eyes roamed to those of his soldiers, taking in the hurt and sorrow in each pair before he had nowhere else to look and he couldn't bear being in the same room with all those distraught faces.

Without a word to anyone, he stalked over to the door, and was just about to open it when it flew open of its own accord. The opening was less grand that usual, which could have been why Roy couldn't figure out who was there at first, but then a patch of bright red swept into the room and stood just before him. A great steel suit followed silently behind, the hands wringing together with a small _ping_ing sound.

"Fullmetal. Alphonse. What are you doing here?" He asked, taking a step back as the brothers came further into the room and closed the door behind them. Mustang watched as the older boy's golden eyes took in everything, gaze flickering from the rain falling outside (how ironic) to the somber looks in all of their eyes and the absence of a feminine presence. Mustang watched as the truth clicked into place in his genius mind and a sudden pain flickered into his eyes. Mustang watched as Ed glanced up at his younger brother, face hidden for a moment before it came back, eyes bright and his face set.

"Why am I here? _Why am I here?_ You don't think that after I'm walking down the street, just enjoying my first day of in years, friggin _years_, and I hear things _exploding_ at the building I work at, which, might I add, _explodes too often_, that I _just might_ think that _maybe_ my jerk of a boss has finally gone over the deep end and _blown_ something up?" A soft snigger floated through the room and Roy looked up. Why was anyone laughing? They should all be glaring Ed down like he was. The teenager needed to learn when to goof off and when not to. But he couldn't have possible know about it, so Roy let him off the hook. Just this once.

"Fullmetal, if you must know, a shooting has just occurred."

Ed seemed to digest this new bit of information quickly, mind factoring for this new variable in the equation before he continued. "Of course there's been, because if I leave for one _second_ you all lose any sense of intelligence. You can't handle yourself for _one day_, Mustang? Is that it?"

Roy flushed furiously at the jibe to his capability, anger rising at the accusation. "Fullmetal, be careful what you say next." The dark haired man warned. He watched as something akin to frustration passed through Fullmetal's eyes and barely payed attention to the worried squeak Al let out.

"Well, why should I be careful? You're the morons who don't have a decent security system. It's your own fault anything like this happened!"

"Fullmetal—"

"You should have at least been able to stop a couple of men! You had a whole frickin _army_ on base!"

"Ed—"

"And if you idiots had any brains, you would have been out there chasing the people that shot everyone up instead of moping in this stupid office!"

"Shut up!" Roy strode forward and shoved Ed, hard. Al gasped as his brother slammed against him, automatically righting the blonde.

"Brother!"

"Colonel!"

Ed waved a hand behind him at his younger brother. "Stay out of this, Al!"

Roy held up a hand to the right, where Breada and Falman had leapt to their feet. "Don't bother!"

Ed laughed tauntingly, stepping towards the Colonel. "What, you don't need your body guard all of a sudden?"

Mustang's coat hit the floor as he lunged forward to punch Ed across the jaw, smirking fiercely when it made contact. He was probably just imagining the glint of relief and satisfaction in the blonde's eyes as his head twisted to the side. "You should have stopped when I warned you."

"Oh yeah? They why didn't you make me? Is it because your Lieutenant isn't here to do your dirty work?" Roy's eyes lit with uncontrollable anger at the taunt to Hawkeye, and Ed wasn't able to duck all of the sudden attacks launched on him.

"You just shut up about her! You don't know a thing about her!"

"But I know enough to know she should be here right now!" If possible, Roy's anger grew, and there were shouts coming from Mustang's subordinates as he slammed fist after fist at Ed.

"You just shut up! You have no right to talk about her like that! It wasn't her fault!"

Ed spit blood out of his mouth, swiping a hand across his face and not wincing when he pressed against the bruise blooming along his cheek bone."Then whose fault is it, yours?"

"No! I did everything I could!" Mustang screamed at the teenager, letting loose all of the frustration that had been building up. A small light of panic entered Ed's eyes as the older man began pushing him towards the wall of the office. "I did everything I could to stop them!"

"Then where are they?" Ed roared back ducking under a right hook and sending a jab to Mustang's middle. The darker haired man was surprised to find that the punch wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be. "Why aren't they in a cell?"

"Because I couldn't!"

"_Why?"_

"Because people were dying! I couldn't just abandon everyone else to go on my own personal vendetta! It wasn't my fault I couldn't go after them, so don't give me any crap about not being able to avenge someone!You weren't even _there_ so you just shut up about not acting! _I did all I could, and it wasn't my fault!"_

Roy must have been imagining the satisfied glint in Ed's eyes as he abruptly lowered his guard and smiled at the Colonel. But then, gold hair was flying backwards from the punch Roy hadn't been able to pull in time. He slammed against Feury's desk, the owner of which had jumped away when the fighting started.

Mustang's last words echoed through the now silent office, and everyone watched as Ed slowly picked himself up off the ground, holding his left arm tenderly with his right, all the while smiling brightly at the Colonel. "Feel better?"

Roy stared in confused awe at the small blonde, mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened. "Fullmetal, wha—"

"You really are a moron if you think you can blame everything on yourself." Ed stated simply, limping forward to pat the older man on the shoulder and smile brightly before turning and stumbling out the door. Roy turned to stare at Al for an explanation. "What just happened?"

Al sighed as if pitying the Colonel. "Mr. Mustang, sir, I don't believe you know my brother as well as you think you do. He noticed right away that you were blaming yourself, and he knew that talking about it wouldn't help. So he did the only thing he knew how to do, and he started a fight."

Mustang stared incredulously at the younger brother. "You mean he started a fight with me on purpose? Even after he lost the last one? What was the point?"

"Well, think about it. Do you blame yourself anymore?"

Roy stared down at his hands, taking a moment to wrap his mind around the fact that Ed had purposefully lost a fight just so he would have peace of mind. "No."

If Al was capable, Roy thought he would be smiling. "Good. Now then, I think it's time you stopped looking to Ed as a distraction when you need one." The younger boy said, and Mustang lifted his head to stare at the retreating back of the fourteen year old. "What?"

But when he turned around, he realized that none of his subordinates looked the least bit doubtful of themselves, and he was grateful of Edward Elric for the first time in a long time.

* * *

Hospitals were naturally busy laces, Roy thought as he paused for yet another nurse rushing by him with an IV bag. Hawkeye managed to halt just before hitting him, but Havoc and Breada weren't so lucky. "Careful men." The two soldiers nodded somberly, eyes downcast and faces drawn.

"Yes boss."

"You got it, sir."

Mustang started forward again, leading the way down one hall and up another. They stopped for three more nurses and one doctor before they froze in front of room A14. The blinds were drawn shut across the door and Roy knew Feury was rubbing one foot against the other in apprehension. Hawkeye cleared her throat, signaling for Roy to do something. The dark haired man coughed a little before lifting a hand and rapping gently on the door.

A metallic "Come in" proceeded their entrance and Roy slowed to a halt at the foot of the hospital bed.

Golden hair splayed out across the stark white hospital pillow and a sharp glint was created by light reflecting off of metal. The brilliant red coat spread carelessly over the foot of the bed contrasted vividly with the overpowering _whiteness _of the room.

And maybe that's why Roy couldn't really believe that it was _Fullmetal_ lying in that bed, because Fullmetal was always bright and vibrant and colorful, and even his famed coat wasn't enough to battle the blandness of the room. And Fullmetal was always animated, moving this sway or that, tapping his foot or flexing his automail hand. Now he lay there so still and lifeless that Roy was hard pressed to remember that the kid was actually annoying at times.

That and loud. Another reason Roy couldn't believe it was because of the overpowering _quiet_ in the room, the lack of volume and motion that usually came with Fullmetal. The soldiers behind him filed in silently (_would someone please make some noise?_), a few nodding to Alphonse. The large suit of armor barely managed to squish into the small hospital chair, hunching in on himself to fit. "Hello Colonel. Thanks for coming."

It took a moment for Roy to actually start moving again, and when he did, it was just to nod. "How's he doing?" The words were automatic and out of his lips before he knew what was happening.

Alphonse looked down at his older brother, metal hands grasping each other tightly as soul-fire eyes took in the vivid purple bruises stretching across Ed's forehead. "Better. The doctors said that he should make a full recovery. He'll probably need a cane for his leg for a few weeks though."

"How did it happen?" Roy really didn't want to know, but he figured that it would be better than not knowing when he was question by higher-ups about his subordinate.

"I don't really know." Al shook his head, looking back down at his clenched hands and shaking a little. Mustang waited for the boy to speak over the small, incessant clings of the armor shaking. "We were on our way over so that brother could get his report turned it before the weekend. He said something about research at the library. It looked like it was going to rain, and he didn't really want to walk into Eastern Command soaking wet, so I suggested we take a cab. I should have just made him walk. Would've been safer."

Al's voice choked up and Roy knew the boy was frustrated that he couldn't run a hand through his hair or kneed his eyes with the palm of his hand. All the metal child could do was slam a fist down on the hospital chair and hope he didn't shatter the weak plastic.

"We ended up flagging down a cab-now that I think back, I'm pretty sure the driver was drunk. Brother said he smelled like it. Anyway, we got in just as it was starting to rain a bit and we told the cabbie to take us to Eastern Command. Brother doesn't usually mind about traffic rules and all, so he didn't talk about the guy running a couple of stops or speeding. It's funny, now that I think about it, because the cabbie was actually following the rules when it happened.

"It was our turn to go and we were crossing that really busy intersection just a couple of blocks from Eastern Command when some other driver decides he isn't going to wait. He sped right through the intersection and crashed head-on into the side of the car. The cabbie died instantly- the whiplash was so violent that it broke his neck. Brother was sitting behind the driver, so he got hit more than I did.

"His automail leg was bent horribly in the crash-the knee totally twisted in on itself and a lot of the metal splintered apart. The other car was going to fast that his slammed his automail into his real leg and completely shattered Brother's knee and tore one of the ligaments. He got some whiplash too, and he hit his head against the edge of my shoulder." For the first time, Roy noted the small rust colored stain spreading across Al's shoulder plate. "The window shattered and the frame of the door wrapped around Ed's left shoulder and broke the collarbone. A couple of his ribs were fractured as well."

Al stopped there, unable to find it in himself to talk more. Roy stared down at his subordinate, taking in the extensive bandaged and IV drips and finally understanding what they were for.

"What happened to the other driver?" Hawkeye, eyes bright and voice soft. A quick glance around showed similar looks of distress on all of the soldiers' faces. Al coughed a little in his armor and sounded just the slightest bit hysterical as he explained. "I got Brother out when the ambulances arrived and I heard them talking about the other driver. He died instantly as well-multiple extensive fractures to his skull when his head hit the steering wheel."

Silence reigned in the room for several more moments, each being taking in the sight of the broken boy before them. As if sensing the dark thoughts in the doom, Ed's brow furrowed and he moaned slightly.

"Ed?" Al sounded impossibly hopeful, and Roy didn't want the younger boy to get his hopes too high yet. "Easy, Alphonse. That's a lot to wake up from."

"Brother, can you hear me?" Al ignored him. Roy sighed.

"Fullmetal?" (He'd be lying if he said he didn't care if Ed woke up or not.)

Ed groaned again, head listing to the side for a moment before bleary golden eyes blinked up at them. Confusion flickered across his face, shadowed by pain. He winced as he tried to shift himself further up on the thin hospital pillows. "Easy, Brother." Al mumbled, placing a hand on Ed's back to help the smaller boy sit up. Muddled amber eyes looked around at the solemn looks on the soldiers' faces and he frowned.

"What, did somebody die? You look like you're all at a funeral." He rasped, grinning slightly. There was a soft chuckle behind Mustang, and the colonel turned to see Breada stepping forward.

"Hey there, chief. Looks like you took a beating."

Ed smiled again, his automail hand lifting up off the sheets to wave carelessly. "Eh, it's not the worst I've had."

And it wasn't, because four years ago the kid had had his arm and leg chopped off. Roy watched as his subordinates slowly eased into a light conversation with Fullmetal, considering all the pain the blonde had been through in his life. He hadn't even noticed he was staring until Ed waved and hand in his direction and frowned at him.

"Hey, Mustang? You alive there? Hello?" Roy was startled out of his stupor and he grinned offhandedly at Ed.

"Sorry."

Ed's eyes widened comically and he held up his hand in a stopping gesture. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, did the infamous Colonel Jerk face just _apologize_?" he jested, smiling widely. (If Roy pretended well enough, he could have passed the harsh grate of Ed's voice off as his imagination. But it wasn't. So he didn't.)

"I'll have you know that I've apologized for something before. And this wasn't even my fault. I didn't even _do_ anything." But Ed had latched onto the beginning of that statement and the rest of Mustang's crew had laughed as Ed's eyes grew even wider.

"Wait, you mean you've apologized _before_ now? That's preposterous!" Ed gestured flamboyantly around himself, for all the world alive and healthy, not bandaged in a hospital bed.

"Not as preposterous as the fact that you were turning in a report on time." Roy retorted smoothly, and the other men laughed. Even Hawkeye cracked a grin.

Ed flushed indignantly. "I've done it before!" He shouted crossly, metallic arm crossed defiantly across his chest while the other remained limp in its sling.

"Name one time." Roy smirked as Fullmetal spluttered, face turning red in frustration.

"That one with the mine I was on time for! And the one where I had to go into a sewer for!"

"If I recall right chief, you were an hour late for the first one, and two days late for the second one." Breada put in and the whole room chuckled at the ridiculous look on Ed's face.

"Hey now, Breada, let's be fair here. Ed does have to cover ground a lot faster than most people to get anywhere on time."Havoc put in. he and Breada roared with laughter while Ed looked ready to explode.

"_Who are you calling so short he could ride a beetle?"_ Ed howled, lunging forwards and swiping a hand out blindly in Havoc's general direction. "_It's not like I'm short for my age!"_

"Actually, Ed, you are."

"_I'll kill all of you!"_

"Aww. Now we can't be friends anymore."

"Don't worry, Breada, we all know Ed's just trying to make up for lost space. He doesn't mean it." Roy pointed out.

"I haven't lost any space!"

All of the previous ranting must have tired the kid out because his shouts didn't reach nearly the same level of volume as the previous ones. But, Mustang mused as he looked around at the grinning faces; maybe Ed had planned it that way.

_

* * *

_

A/N. so, yeah, sorry for making you guys wait so long. Here's a nice long update for ya. I was unsure whether or not those last two made sense, and I didn't know if I should post it or not, but then I just decided to suck it up and see if you guys had any constructive criticism for me. So…yeah. Please review! From now on, I'm hoping to post every weekend, so you guys please hold me to that!

_Next week: Idiosyncrasies_

_DISCLAIMER: see previous chapters_

_Thanks!_

_-Shadow _


	7. Specialties

_A/N. So sorry for the long time between updates! In the last one I said I'd update every weekend, and then in my mind I changed it to every other weekend, and then I just skipped like, two whole months. So yeah, apparently I'm not one for deadlines unless it'll cost me my grade in Science. And even then…well, let's not get into that. Suffice to say, I'm SO sorry for the ridiculously long time gap between updates…but honestly here, how many of you were _actually_ waiting for it? Anyway, here's the new chapter, disclaimer in previous ones blah, blah, blah. _

* * *

7) There were certain people that could make Roy do things he would never do otherwise. Hughes could make Roy laugh out loud, Havoc could get even Roy roped into his schemes, Fuery could make him smother a mean joke, Breda could make him argue like a petulant kid, Riza made him do things he didn't even he want to think about, and Ed was the only one that could get him so irritated that he actually stood up and ran after the brat with his ignition gloves.

* * *

There have been many times Roy Mustang wanted to strangle a certain blonde haired State Alchemist. Edward Elric has annoyed him so many times he can't count anymore and each time leaves him feeling more and more like a child.

But never before has he wanted to strangle the kid more than right now.

Sure, the day started off well enough—he was Roy Mustang; everything was good for him. Hughes dropped in early (quite literally—"Hey Roy!" _Thump! _"How was it possible to fall walking over a flat surface, Hughes?") to talk about his daughter. Roy found it in himself to listen for the first fifteen pictures-but sixteen of the _same outfit_ would press on anyone's nerves. When he mentioned this to the older man, Hughes just laughed and brought up the time in South Amestris with the girl from the flower shop (_"Aww, Roy! You're blushing!")_. It ended with the two men discussing the chances of Havoc getting a girl and Hughes leaving in stitches.

Roy was slumped against the desk, howling with laughter at Hughes's parting comment. "Roy, he'd be lucky if you didn't take his _grandmother_ from him!"

_Pat-a-tat-thump!-"Aww_, hell…"-_pat-a-tat-clang!_

Speak of the devil, there he was. Roy vacated his chair, still chuckling, to see Havoc struggling around the office with a bucket of sealed paint in one hand, a rubber balloon, safety clips and a glue gun in the other. The dark haired colonel stared for a moment, for once at a complete loss as to what his subordinate could possibly be doing with such an odd assortment of…_stuff._

"Havoc?"

The sandy haired Lieutenant whirled around from where he was leaning over Feury's desk. The paint can tipped over the edge and clipped Havoc's foot.

"_Da-a-amn!..._Yeah, boss?" He winced magnificently in the middle of his question, attempting to look innocent while hopping on one foot and rubbing the other carefully.

Roy's eyebrows rose as he watched a thin glop of paint seep out of a crack in the lid. "Mind telling me what you were planning on doing with all that?" He asked, gesturing to Havoc's "tools".

Havoc's face lit up. "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

The eyebrows shot up higher. "With what?"

"You see," Havoc started, bending down to pick up the paint can and hefting it onto the desk "Breada played this prank on me the other day-you remember, the one with the flour and the water…and the feathers?"

Roy nodded.

"Right, so now I'm getting him back."

"Uh-huh." Roy said, examining the materials again with a new perspective. "So your plan is to hang a balloon filled with paint over his desk using…where's the cord you're going to hang it with? Or are you just going to throw it at him?"

Havoc motioned for the older man to follow him to his desk, where he pulled open one of the top drawers. A big wooden spoon popped out, connected to some sort of spring.

"A catapult?" Roy guessed, testing it with a finger. The spoon pulled back easily and then snapped forward. Roy jumped back.

"You got it! Breada won't even know what hit him!" Havoc cackled gleefully, rubbing his hand together.

Roy shrugged. "Well, it seems like you've got everything in order. Why do you need me?"

Havoc snapped his fingers, leading the colonel back over to the new supplies. "That's the thing. Every time I try to tie the balloon closed with the paint in it, some of the paint always squeezes out. So I was wondering if you could seal it closed with your 'fire powers'." Here Havoc wiggled his fingers and then straightened, looking at Roy expectantly.

The dark haired man stared at the Lieutenant for a moment, taking into careful consideration that his subordinate seemed to be not a little bit drunk-or at least, delirious- before shrugging." Sure. Why the hell not?"

Havoc pumped a fist into the air while letting out a loud "Yes!" before snatching up the balloon and pulling a funnel out of his pocket.

"Wha-…I'm not even going to ask."

Roy figured he'd rather not know.

Seven minutes passed in silence as Havoc concentrated on pouring out the paint and Roy watched in slight amusement. Just as Havoc was slowly easing the can away and Roy was carefully pinching the neck of the balloon closed the handle of the door rattled. Both men froze in their spots, sharing a quick, panicked look.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the door eased open and Roy tried to hide the balloon behind his back, but when the thick wooden panel swung open it revealed…Feury.

"Thank God!" Havoc gasped, taking in a deep lungful of air from the breath he'd been holding. Roy too let out a sigh and then smiled at the smaller man. "Hello Feury."

Feury saluted absentmindedly, staring at the contraption set up before him. "Um…sirs…What _is_ that?"

Havoc and Roy exchanged glances, one shrugging his shoulders while the other frowned. Then Havoc decided to screw it.

"This, my friend, is a _catapult_!" The Second Lieutenant exclaimed giddily, presenting the wooden spoon-string-machine with a flourish. Feury appraised it silently.

"…It d-doesn't look very…capable, s-sir."

Havoc immediately took offence, having been told by the colonel that it was a fine catapult, thank you very much.

"Hey! It's perfect!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms defensively. Roy snickered in the background.

Feury held his hands up to placate the older man, waving them fiercely. "No, no, it's a good catapult! It just…won't go very far…I don't think it will hit Mr. Breda."

Havoc froze. "Who said I was attempting to hit Breda?"

An awkward silence settled over the room.

"Um…no one, sir?" Feury said hesitantly, ducking his head and refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"…Feury, I do believe it would be a good idea to finish that paperwork you were assigned." Havoc said in a dangerously low voice, head bowed and glowering. Feury didn't quite get the suggestion.

"I've already finished it…"

"Nonsense!" Havoc exclaimed, suddenly frighteningly chipper. "You can't possibly be done!"

But at Feury's negative tilt of his head, Havoc shrugged. "Then you can have mine! Besides, the boss needs some more paperwork!"

Roy, who had up to this point been half-aware of the conversation, perked up. "What? No. Sheesh, I need paperwork like I need a…" but at Havoc's pointed look at Feury, who was staring at the Colonel curiously, Roy trailed off.

"A, um…never mind. So, the paperwork. Better get started on that." And with that, Roy turned and stalked back into his office.

Every couple of minutes, Mustang would hear the murmur of voices before they cut off in what he assumed to be an awkward silence, but you never knew. The large stack of paperwork before him didn't seem to be dwindling no matter how many papers he signed and filed. He was just standing up to file a report on rabid dogs attacking one of the army's foot soldiers (very interesting reading here) when Breda came in.

Mustang paused in his work, waiting for the casual greeting and everyday chit-chat to die down before he swung open the door. "Hello Breda. Nice to see you finally-"

He was cut off by a surprised shout from the man he was speaking to. The portly man jumped from his chair, spattered all over with bright pink paint. Roy watched as Breada slowly raised his hands and wiped the paint from his eyes.

"Havoc…you are so _dead._" He threatened slowly, his face twisting into a comical scowl and he began to stalk forwards towards the blonde Second Lieutenant. Roy stepped in the way, seeing as the office had just gotten repaired from their last fight.

"Breda."

The shorter man glared up. "Colonel."

Roy frowned at the sarcastic tone. "I do not want paint all over my office."

Breda threw his hands up. "Aw, come on boss! _Not even a little?_"

Roy shook his head adamantly. "No."

"_Please_?"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes…wait, dammit! No, Breda!" Roy scowled fiercely at the proud look on his subordinate's face. "Fair is fair. You got him, he got you, now you're going to clean your face and go back to work!" He stated commandingly. Feury shuffled in his chair and said nothing. Havoc smirked. Breda frowned.

"Fine…_ass_." He mumbled under his breath, shoving past the Colonel. Roy's hand shot out and grabbed the man by the collar.

"Whoa, no. You do not just _walk away_ after that! Now, you get to clean everything up."

"_What?_" Breda screeched incredulously, whirling around and glaring first at Roy, then at Havoc. "This is so unfair!"

"Who cares?" The colonel snorted. "You're the one that-"

"Colonel Mustang, sir."

All the men in the room froze as the cool female voice cut the air like a knife. Three of them stood at attention while the fourth turned with a guilty look on his face.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye. I wasn't expecting you to be back for an hour…"

Riza frowned at him. "I gathered. I came back early because I had a surprise for you." She said, and Roy cocked his head, his interest piqued.

"Really now? Am I allowed to ask what it is?"

Riza nodded, setting down the manila files she had been holding and unclipping Black Hayate from his leash. "Yes. I'm allowing you to 'skip' on you paperwork."

Mustang whooped rather unprofessionally, pumping the air with a fist.

"…Wait."

All of a sudden, he didn't feel quite so lucky. His face fell slightly and he stared at her with a calculative look. "…Why am I being let out of paperwork?"

"Because, sir." She began, snapping her fingers to grab Hayate's attention while she headed for the colonel's office. "You will be helping the men clean this office until it's spotless."

Roy sighed. "I figured it would be something like that."

He jumped when a towel came flying out of his office from the ever helpful Hawkeye.

Roy was crouched on all fours when Fullmetal showed up, rubbing down the side of Breda's desk with a damp cloth. Who knew that paint could be so…permanent?

"Mustang? Mustang? Aw, where the hell is that ass?" He heard the mumbled complaint faintly and immediately sat up.

"Brother!" Al reproached from his side, tilting his head in a scolding manner. "That's no way to speak to the Colonel."

"You should listen to your brother, Fullmetal. I suggest you be more respectful to your superiors in the near future." Roy advised, regaining his feet and tossing his towel at Havoc. The younger man raised an eyebrow dryly when the soaked cloth hit his shoulder.

"Thanks, boss."

"No problem."

"Umm…" Ed interrupted, staring at the pink residue splattered over the wall opposite him. "What the _hell_ happened in here?"

"Oh, this?" Mustang said casually, waving a hand around. He shook his head as if to say Ed shouldn't bother himself with it. "Just a prank. Have you got that report I asked for?"

Al nudged his brother when the blonde didn't respond, having been absorbed with looking at the extent of the prank.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I got it right here." The paper in his hand appeared slightly crumpled, testament to its ride to the office in Edward's coat. "Do I have to give another one of those oral reports?"

Roy was about to say he didn't have to bother with it, because it would take time and…it would take _time!_ His face brightened as he realized that for once Ed was doing him a favor.

"Yes, actually. You skipped out on your last one so you're doing this one for sure."

Ed was about to complain about having actually _done_ the last oral report and _why_ was Roy ushering him towards his office so quickly when he jumped violently.

Mustang had flinched too, ducking wildly as a gunshot echoed through the small office. Roy 'eeped' when he saw Riza in the doorway of his private office, the smoking gun still in hand.

"Sir." She said respectfully and condemningly. "I believe you still have work to do. Edward can give _me_ the report while _you_ finish your job."

Roy wasn't about to argue with her, especially with the cold piece of metal in her hands. Wordlessly, and ignoring the confused look on Ed's face, he shoved the boy towards his office with a shooing motion. The blonde stared at him in shock for a moment before following the older woman into Roy's office and shutting the door behind him.

As soon as it clicked closed, Roy huffed out a breath. "_Damn it!"_

A faint snicker came from behind him and Roy was surprised to find that it belonged to the younger Elric brother. "Sorry sir, but…she got you there, didn't she?"

And with that, Alphonse started laughing again, holding a hand up to his metal mouth. Roy was sure if it had been Ed he would have been throttling the boy by now but…Al was Al, and no one could really hate him.

"Well. Since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful." He said, tossing the empty armor a clean cloth and motioning to the pink wall. "Get going."

Al headed for the wall without complaint. "Yes sir. If you don't mind my asking, how did this-"

Al's quiet voice was drowned out by a ringing from Mustang's office. The colonel cocked his head for a moment before realizing it was his phone and heading for the door.

"I've got it."

But as soon as he put a hand on the door knob, the ringing stopped. He frowned. "Hawkeye must have gotten it."

He pressed his ear up against the door anyway, ignoring how Alphonse turned his query to the other men while he listened to-

"_This is Colonel Mustang's office. If you're one of several women he has a date with tonight, dial five. If you're one of his commanding officers, he doesn't want to talk to you, so you might as well hang up. If you're anybody else, well, I don't understand why the hell you'd be calling this number any-"_

"Fullmetal!" Roy roared, and he shoved open the door. Ed was sitting at _Roy's_ chair with his muddy boots propped up _Roy_'sdesk, talking into _Roy's _phone.

The blonde dropped the heavy thing with a smile, vacating the chair and transmuting a door into the other wall so fast Mustang's head spun. "Get back here!" he shouted uselessly, and he gave chase, watching the small braid whip around the corner.

Forgetting Hawkeye, who was calmly trying to tell him to "cool off or be forced to", he dashed after the teen. He didn't even notice that he was pulling on his gloves in his agitation.

"Fullmetal! Do you even _know_ who that _was_? It could have been the _Furher_ for all you know!"

Ed's reply came from the other side of the office they'd barged into. Several of the sergeants and quite a few privates looked startled.

"_Why would the _Furher _be calling _you_?"_ The blonde questioned before he darted out the door.

Two different blurs exploded into the hallway, rushing past Mustang's crew, who was come outside in the hopes of seeing their commanding officer and fellow subordinate.

"Now we'll never _know!_" Mustang bellowed before snapping. Ed barely managed to dodge the toned-down fireball before it exploded at his feet. He yelped and continued, dancing from side to side in the hopes of remaining un-fried.

"It was a _joke_!" He shouted back. A door loomed before him and he shouldered it open without a thought, taking in the stairs and automatically shooting up. He was at his first landing when he heard the door clang open and he caught a glimpse of black and blue before it was swallowed up with red and orange.

He flattened himself against the wall not a moment too soon and then began climbing, staring at the charred remains of the railing in a sort of morbid interest. He whistled.

"Got some heat going on there, Mustang!" He jibed as he reached his second landing. The older man just kept racing for his small subordinate, the anger in his gaze dulled by the amusement swallowing it. He'd kill himself for admitting it but… the kid was good for a laugh. This could possibly be considered…_fun_.

Their chase continued until they reached the roof. Several other pairs of footsteps were behind them, and after a few moments it wasn't just Fullmetal and Flame who were standing out in the open air.

Ed smirked from his position on the ledge, sending a sarcastic salute in Mustang's direction. The black-haired alchemist lunged forward to grasp the younger man around the scruff of the neck, but Ed just clapped and slammed his hands on the ground. An amateurish bridge stretched from the roof of Central to the building opposite and Ed lost little time in sprinting across it. Several pedestrians looked up to see a blonde blob race to the other building and clap just as a blue military uniform leapt to the ledge of Headquarters.

He had time to scream out his subordinate's name in frustration before the bridge retracted and Ed was beyond his reach.

"_Damn it_!" he howled.

But the officers behind him didn't see the grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

_Next time, Fullmetal._

* * *

A/N.

Good Lord, this did _not_ want to be written. I think I must have started and re-started this at least a dozen times before I just sat down and typed it all. And I know that's no excuse for how long of a wait you guys had or how awful this chapter was, but the next one will (definitely) be better! Not sure if I'll be able to keep the every weekend update, but this time, I swear it'll be within a month of posting this!

Constructive criticism is welcomed!

Next week: _Constant Reminders_

Ciao!

-Shadow


	8. Flashback

_A/N. So apparently, I'm even worse with deadlines when I have all the time to work on them. Sorry for such a long wait. _

* * *

8) [Animeverse] Roy didn't want to be in Resembool. He wanted to get away, get away, get away from the pictures of the Rockbells and the remains of their lives. And especially to get away from their daughter. Somehow, being able to see the Rockbells' daughter while they couldn't made his insides twist unbearably. She looked just like her mother, just like her mother, just like her mother, dead on the ground in a pool of blood with a bullet in her chest that he put there and—  
She turned to him, tears budding in the corners of her eyes and screamed at him that he killed them, he killed them, he killed them, and how do they know that he won't kill Ed too, if Roy's career was on the line?  
He didn't answer, didn't answer, couldn't answer, because somewhere he knew that he had been asking himself the same question.

* * *

"Holy hell!"

Roy's head remained bowed as he walked up the dusty path, shoes steadily collecting grime from his trek. "That's contradictory, Fullmetal."

"Well _I don't care!_" The blonde snarled viciously, kicking a particularly large looking rock with his metal foot, metal gun shaking in his hand, shaking in his hand, shaking-

Roy shook his head, brushing the memories from his mind like so many spider webs crowding a forgotten corner. The past was the past, and that was where it would remain. "And what brought on this disregard for logic?"

Ed's response was instantaneous, echoing around the rolling hills filled only with passive sheep and themselves. "Winry! She's gonna kill me!"

"Why?" Roy didn't care if he sounded disinterested, he was just trying to keep calm, keep calm, still the gun in his hand because he was just following orders-

Ed was still rambling a few steps ahead. "Because I messed up my automail! She's going to kill me and then bring me back to life to clean up the mess!"

Roy rolled his eyes at the boy's complaints, some locked-away part of him amused by the antics. "I hardly think your mechanic would murder you over _automail_, Fullmetal."

He ran head long into the blonde, accidentally staring down into brilliant amber eyes. "You've obviously never met Winry."

Never met Winry, never met Winry, did meet her mother, blonde hair swaying in front of blue eyes as he got ready to-

"Still, I find it hard to believe that she would actually kill you, no matter how enticing it is."

Ed was scowling at him then, turning on heel and marching a few steps away with short, angry strides. "You just wait and see, jerk."

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, giving Roy the time to appreciate just how backwater Resembool was. The last house they'd passed was already half a mile away, disappearing over the horizon as it was hidden by lush hills. The dirt path they were on was void of tire tracks, instead bearing the obvious signs of heavy cart traffic. He and Fullmetal were traveling between the two thin gullies, minding the occasional pothole or murky puddle, murky puddle of crimson spreading from their bodies, inching its way towards him, coming closer, closer, going to smother him-

"You know, you didn't have to come with me."

Roy grunted, eyes flickering up to see Ed's red clad back, watching the coat flutter in a sudden gust of wind. He shrugged despite knowing Ed could never see it and said "Yeah. But Hawkeye would kill me if I hadn't. Besides, with Al staying back at headquarters, you needed a 'bodyguard'."

A snort floated back to him, testament to Ed's obvious disbelief. "Sure. Like someone's gonna attack me on my way to _Resembool_."

Yes, it was a bit paranoid for the colonel to be accompanying Ed here. It wasn't like the terrorists could come after the blonde anymore, and Scar had been quiet for months, so there was no real danger of anyone threatening Ed. But that didn't stop him from feeling guilty whenever he saw the empty sleeve dangling from Fullmetal's side.

After all, it was his fault, his fault for the arm, his fault for the couple, sprawled out on the floor with blood creeping away from them-

"Colonel?"

"Hmm?"

Ed was staring at him again, some misplaced light of concern in his eyes. "You okay? You kinda spaced out there for a minute."

Roy laughed, shaking his head at the teen. "I'm fine, Fullmetal. Just wondering how long it'll be until we get there." Dreading it, actually, terrified of what will happen when he sees her…

"It's just over the hill." Roy's eyes followed the gloved finger and he saw a chimney peaking up over the edge.

"Oh." In contrast to Ed's obvious desire to breach the crest of the hill, Roy slowed his steps and stalled for as long as he could.

But there was only so long he could procrastinate without looking suspicious, and eventually he found himself standing next to the blonde just a few yards shy of the open porch. The welcoming white house loomed ominously overhead, frightening Roy more than the bark of a rifle or the scream of a subordinate.

Alright, maybe not that much, but close.

He was setting down the worn black bag he'd brought with him when his mind registered the fait _pit-a-pat_ of feet rapping across wooden flooring before something pink and yellow appeared on the porch two stories up.

"_Edward Elric!_"

The screech rang in his eardrums, rang in his eardrums, just like a gunshot, just like _the_ gunshot, echoing around the barren room and-

"_Auughhh!"_ The pained yelp saved him from his mental torture, bringing to his attention his collapsed major and the bloodied wrench sticking out of his head, bloodied head, bloodied hair, gold tainted with crimson as it floated in the shallow pool- "_Winry, what the hell was that for?"_

He watched the scene pan out between the two teens, eyes focused more on Edward and ears focused more on Winry. Ed's golden eyes were bright with fury, skillfully hiding the pleased look Roy knew was itching to get out. He heard the enraged tone in Winry's voice, layered thickly over the pitch that said _I'm glad you're safe_.

Eventually the screaming died down and he felt Winry's curious gaze on the top of his head. "Who's this?"

He saw Ed cock his head, rolling his eyes at the other blonde. "Don't you remember? This is Colonel Mustang, although I bet he wasn't so pompous the last time you met."

After glaring at his subordinate, Roy looked up long enough to give a wave and not seem too rude. "Hello, Miss" Don't panic, don't grimace, don't show fear, "Rockbell. Nice to meet you again."

He caught sight of the way her eyes turned icy as he ducked his head back down. "I can't say the same."

Don't flinch, don't flinch, don't flinch-"Well, for that I am truly sorry."

"No, you're not."

Roy sighed under his breath, shoulder slumping minutely. It would be hard to change her mind.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Ed cleared his throat and told Winry they were coming in. Roy followed silently, bag slapping against his back with every step. "Fullmetal."

"What?" Ed's tone wasn't angry or degrading as it usually was, rather filled with some unwarranted curiosity and worry.

"I-" Roy was going to tell him, really, he was. He was all set to admit that he'd been the one to murder his best friend's parents, take on the boy's hate and anger until he felt thoroughly punished, but when he looked into Ed's eyes and saw the uncharacteristic concern and outright _fondness_ in them, he trailed off. "Never mind."

Maybe he was reading into it too much.

Frowning to himself, he shuffled up the stairs and followed the blonde into the house. No need to make a situation worse that it was. Winry was waiting in the kitchen when they came in, hands fisted on her overall-covered hips. She scowled particularly fiercely at Roy and he tried not to cower under her glare, under kind eyes that looked at him in pity as he raised the gun to her head and told her to close her eyes, close her eyes, close her eyes…

"What did you do this time, Ed?"

Roy somehow managed to find his way to one of the rickety wooden chairs framing the table without stumbling, gloved hands clenched in on themselves. He watched Winry as the two argued, taking in the posture and the determined eyes and the lemon colored hair and the way she reminded him _so much_ of her mother, of her mother clenching her father, calm and dignified as she told him she was sorry that he had to be there, she was sorry about the war, she was sorry for-

"-Colonel. Hey, Colonel!"

He glanced up when he heard Ed's call, noticing that the other blonde was disappearing around the corner with a flutter of hair. "What, Ed?"

"…Nothing."

And Roy watched the teen flash a grin and then bound up the stairs, boots thumping heavily.

This was not good.

* * *

Three days passed in which Roy snuck out of the house as much as possible, walking around the town and all together avoiding Winry. Ed accompanied him sometimes, limping along on that spare leg with the big black dog trailing along beside him. Roy couldn't say he was grateful for the company, because he'd really wanted the time alone to think, but it also showed that the boy was growing up, so Roy let the blonde walk with him. Besides, even if he'd told Edward off, it wasn't like the kid would listen to him.

It was during one of these walks that Ed spoke up, head bowed in that new-but-disturbing way of his. "Colonel…"

"Yeah, Ed?" The dog was prancing ahead of the pair, tail wagging enthusiastically as it chased a bird. Roy watched with a slight frown.

"Um…" Ed sounded hesitant, and while earlier Roy would have been worried about how uncharacteristic it was, it had become disturbingly normal for the blonde to be unsure. "Have you tried talking with Winry?"

Roy froze, foot about to lift off the ground to take another step.

Winry.

The blonde girl with the blue eyes and the sweet smile (not directed at him, of course) who looked just like her mother, her mother staring up at him, tears gathering in her eyes as she said goodbye to her husband and closed her eyes and-

"I…haven't gotten the chance."

Ed looked exasperated, amber eyes glaring at the colonel with a mix of frustration and anger. "You've been in the same house for three days! How can you not have talked to her? I would have assumed that you'd have at least tried to flirt with her by now."

Roy flinched. "She's too young. And I'm not _desperate_, Fullmetal. I just…haven't talked to her."

"Why? You should at least try to get her to stop glaring at you. She won't listen to me, no matter what I say."

Roy wished he could quit pressing.

"And it's not like you're _that_ bad of a guy, I mean, _come on_ Colonel. You just gonna take that lying down?"

Really, it was starting to remind him of the girl and how determined she was to hate him.

"…And you've done nothing to make her change her mind, except bring me here in one piece. Thanks for that, by the way…"

When he remembered the girl, he remembered _her_ and how unfair it was that he got to be here, see her, even with all the hate in her eyes.

"…You just stare around all day, sitting on the porch and walking around. Pinako wanted me to make sure you weren't going to walk in front of a car…"

Except with _her_ she was staring at him with compassion, saying that it wasn't his fault, he shouldn't blame himself in the slightest-

"-And I've been getting kind of worried too-"

-that he was a good soldier, a good man, following orders, asking if-

"-because, you know, you've been helping me an Al a lot and-"

-she could just hold onto this picture before he did it, and then gently grasping-

"-not many people want to give us the time of day, because I mean-"

-a wooden frame, and there, there in the middle was the girl with lemon hair and ocean eyes, smiling brightly at the camera-

"-I'm kind of hard to get along with, but you've managed it so far, even though we fight-"

-and he's lifting the gun, it's shaking in his hands, or his hands are shaking in it, he can't really tell, everything's just-

"-So I guess I-"

-melding together, his fingers are jerking-

"-just wanted-"

-he hears it explode, something small jumping forward-

"-to say-"

-red everywhere, all over her and him and him and-

"-You're like-"

-Oh god, no-

"-a-"

-They're-

"-father-"

-dead-

"-to me-"

"_I killed them!_" He screamed suddenly, the confession leaping from his mouth and filling the air like a poisonous gas, spreading everywhere and infecting everything. Ed was staring at him, confusion prominent in his gaze. Wind whipped around both of them, sending Ed's hair mingling in the breeze with dead leaves and flecks of dirt.

"…Colonel?"

Roy was shaking, shoulders heaving as he tried to keep from being sick all over the road. "I killed them, Ed!"

The blonde still looked confused, taking a step towards his superior like it would help his understanding. "Who? Killed who, Colonel?"

Roy was panicking now, wanting the boy to stay away before he was forced to dirty more gold with crimson, shoot someone else, take another life. _"Her parents! Winry's parents!"_

Ed froze, had outstretched in the act of reaching for the dark haired man. "Wh-what?"

Roy hated the shaky tone in his voice, the frightened tremor running through it. "I-I…I didn't want to, you have to believe me! They would have kicked me out, killed me too, and I wouldn't have been able to get to the top and protect everyone and-and-and-"

He was hyperventilating, trying to get Ed to understand that he had to do it, he didn't want to kill his best friend's parents, didn't want to at all, to see their faces swarming his memory for the rest of his life.

Roy didn't realize he was still rambling until Ed interrupted him softly.

"…Colonel…"

He froze again, his life a constant stream of stop and start, pause and play, fast forward and rewind. "…"

"I don't…I don't _blame_ you."

Roy stared incredulously at the blonde, dark eyes widening in surprise and a smidgeon on hope. "But…I killed them. She'll never be able to see them again because of me!"

Edward nodded, showing the maturity a person twice his age lacked. "I know. But like you said, you were just following orders. I can't blame you for that."

"You're not…angry?"

The blonde grinned weakly at him, sorrow and heartache leaking into the motion. "Sad? Yes. Regretful? Yes. Angry? Never."

And so the colonel was left to stare dumbstruck at the blonde, watch him lift an automail hand to pat his shoulder and the turn down the road, the dog on his heels. "You coming or what?"

Roy followed with a relieved smile, still amazed that the boy had forgiven him so easily.

He managed to convince himself that the lingering tremble in Ed's voice was just his imagination.

* * *

Dinner was awkward to say the least. Ed spent the whole time jerking his head towards Winry in an attempt to get him to confess and the girl spent her time ignoring him. It was only after Pinako had started clearing away dishes that Roy dared to speak to the girl.

"Miss Rockbell…"

Winry still wasn't facing him, eyes kept firmly on her empty placemat, but he saw her head twitch and her shoulders had tensed. At least she was listening.

"I need to tell you something. I'm not proud of it in the least and I wish I'd never been forced to do it, but I must own up to my sins."

Water started gushing out of the faucet, accompanied by the clacking of plate hitting sink. Pinako had started the dishes. Winry was still looking away, back rigid against the chair in icy abhorrence. Ed was sitting with his hands in his lap, head bowed but tilted just enough to show that his eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the floor. Roy decided to go for it.

"…I am responsible for the deaths of your parents. I shot them."

At that point, many things happened at once.

The sound of a plate shattering came from the kitchen; Pinako had dropped a dish.

The sound of fabric brushing quickly against itself came from his left; Winry had flinched violently.

The _faint_ sound of hair whipping this way and that came from far before him; Ed had ducked his head even lower, prepared for the wrath that was Winry Rockbell.

And Roy waited too, eyes lowered respectfully but head held high with the dignity of a good soldier. He had only been following orders, following orders, following orders, following-

"You?" The word was breathy and incredulous, forced harshly from a shaking mouth. "You killed them? You're the reason they're _dead_?"

To his credit, Roy did not flinch under the heartbroken words. He merely nodded silently, waited for her to continue. Her eyes were watering, just like her mother's had just before she died, the glossy sheen of liquid welling up around reddening flesh.

"You _killed them?_"

Now she was on her feet, her chair having toppled backwards onto the floor from a rough shove. She was screaming at him, fist clenched at her side in fury.

"Yes."

"_Why?"_

"I…was ordered to."

A slap rang out around the room, and when Roy turned his face back to the table, his left cheek was sporting a cherry red handprint. Winry's hand was still raised from the action, shaking from the indecision of whether or not she'd hit him again.

She did.

Roy's head twisted sickly to the left as she backhanded him, now bearing a matching mark.

"Winry!" A voice called, young and cracking in something akin to distressed anger. Roy heard stomping feet and looked around in time to see that Winry had stormed over to Ed's chair and shoved him violently.

"Stay out of this, Ed! I bet you knew this whole time, didn't you? You just didn't tell me! You _asshole!_" She screamed this in his face while fisting a hand in his blood red coat, shaking him forcefully. His chair teetered back on two legs, wobbling dangerously. Winry let him crash backward to the ground, and Ed hadn't done a thing to stop it.

"Miss Rockbell. I'm sorry about everything, but you can't take it out on Ed for it. I just told him this afternoon."

But Winry hadn't heard anything past _take it out on him._ Leaving the blonde sprawled out on the floor; she stalked back over to him and punched him right across the jaw. "So I'll just take it out on you!"

Now Ed was back on his feet, yelling at Winry to stop. "He's said he's sorry, Winry!"

"_Sorry won't bring them back!"_

"_Neither will punching him!"_

"_Well what if I punch you?"_

"_That won't do anything either!"_

"_It'll make me feel better!"_

Throughout the screaming match, none of the occupants of the room had seen or even heard Pinako enter untilWinry felt a pressure on her arm and looked down to find a wizened hand resting against it. "Granny, he killed Mom and Dad!"

Pinako looked weary all of a sudden, eyes flickering pitifully over the two men in the room. "Yes, he did. But that was because he had to. I may not like the State military or their damned dogs, but the fact of the matter is that he _had_ to."

"No he didn't!" She screamed, eyes squeezing shut in her anger and frustration.

"I would have been killed." Mustang spoke quietly and without flinching head bowed so that the bright red marks that had died down to a pale pink were almost hidden. Winry was quick to respond.

"You should have! Better you than they!"

Roy barely caught Ed's distressed noise in the back of his mind before he was speaking. "Yes. I should have. I would have. But I have a job to do, and I need to see it through to the end."

"Oh, so you have a _job_ to do!" Winry scorned mockingly, waving her hands around pompously. "It was worth more that my parents' _lives?"_

Roy remained silent, and that only enraged Winry further.

"Oh, okay. A couple of lives are worth it, it's alright if some kid gets _orphaned_ because of it!"

Roy noted that Edward had huddled in on himself so much that he seemed half his size.

"So if lives aren't that big a deal, _what happens to Ed?"_

His eyes shot over to her, confusion seeping into the gaze. What on earth did the blonde have to do with her parents' deaths?

"_What happens when he stands between you and your _job_?"_ She was passionate again, screaming in utter fear and fury.

Roy hoped she wasn't implying was he thought she was, no, surely she wasn't. Obviously he'd never, ever, not even in his wildest nightmares ever _consider_ coming close to-

"_Will you kill him too?"_

This time, both Roy and Ed flinched, the former of the two jerking his head while the latter folded his arms around himself and seemed to crumble completely. He was staring at Roy with wide eyes, eyes that only got wider as Roy's mouth hung open, gaping like a fish out of water. Words wouldn't couldn't _didn't want to_ come because-

"I don't….I can't…I didn't…I…I…"

-It wasn't just the flashbacks that were bothering him. It was how her blonde hair could turn to gold if he looked at it right. It was that the blue eyes she had could easily turn to amber because he couldn't see them beneath the closed lids. It was how the she could turn to a he. How the woman could turn to Fullmetal.

How easy it was to kill Edward.

Ed was still staring at him, the confusion and compassion that had fill them earlier in the week now tinged fear. Why wasn't he saying anything to the boy?

"I…I don't…"

And he couldn't help but notice how Ed looked like a lamb being lead to the slaughter by a shepherd that saved it from the flames.

_I don't want to._

* * *

_A/N. WHOA. That one took freaking ages. And it's so long…eleven pages on Word. Finishing this in a hotel room just on the outside of Columbia. Who says collage visits aren't fun, huh?_

_Yeah. They aren't. _

_Anywho, review! Please._

_-Shadow_


	9. Understanding

_A/N. There's really nothing I can actually say that would give a good explanation for why this is so late. But at least now I've planned out all the other chapters! Literally, for almost three hours, I went through every prompt and wrote out everything I could possibly need to know to write it. No more waiting five months to figure out what will happen! _

* * *

9) Colonel Mustang had bargained nonstop in order to get the new child prodigy put under his command. It seemed that every time he fought another officer down, another one popped up, demanding that the Elric boy be under him.  
There were no requests like that after the first time Ed barged in to give his report.

* * *

Twenty-one.

Ed was twenty-one years old.

Ed was twenty-one years old, and he _still _wasn't married yet.

Goddamn it, that meant he was _old_ now.

Scowling lightly to himself and ignoring the odd look the bartender gave him, Mustang accepted two drinks and placed a few bills in the tip jar.

It wasn't necessarily that Ed's being old made _him_ old, but more like Ed's being old enough to get married meant Mustang should have been married a long, _long_ time ago.

And damn it, that meant he really _was_ old, didn't it?

Mustang huffed to himself and tried not to spill the drinks balanced precariously in his hands as a rowdy Lieutenant darted in front of him. Mustang had gotten around to a lot of bars in his time, especially in the years after Ishval, but his favorite was still an old military hangout, always packed with Generals and grunts alike. If he craned his neck, he could see Armstrong in the back corner talking (shouting) to (at) a flustered Private that looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. Leaving the Private to his doom, Mustang waded through the crowd in search of his table. It shouldn't have been easy to miss, really, what with the way all of the people seated around it were _blonde_, but the only way Roy knew he had the right one was because someone shouted his name.

"Get lost, Colonel?" A young voice called teasingly. "First time in a bar?"

Roy spun around, nearly spilling both drinks, to see amber eyes blinking innocently up at him. He rolled his eyes when he realized who it was and walked forward.

"Watch it, Ed, or I might have to give this to Riza." Roy warned. The woman in question held out her hand, pretending to take the beer from Roy.

"Whoa, hold up! It's _my_ birthday! Sorry for doubting your veteran bar experience, bastard." Ed jumped to his feet and quickly saved his drink before the blonde Lieutenant could steal it.

Mustang chuckled, sitting down next to the woman. "It's alright to be jealous, Ed."

"I'm not _jealous!_" Ed snarled defiantly.

"Sure, Fullmetal. Whatever you say."

"I'm _not!"_

"Alright, Ed, we get it. Now sit down before you knock someone over."

The reprimand came from the blonde sitting directly across from Roy. At twenty years old, Alphonse was still unable to drink legally, so instead he gripped a bubbly soft drink. His brows eyes twinkled amusedly as he watched his brother sit down with an exaggerated huff.

"Yeah, Ed, don't pick a fight with Roy. Your ego couldn't handle the loss, especially on your birthday." Winry grinned from her seat next to Ed and patted him consolingly on the shoulder. "No offense."

"Hn. No offense my ass." Ed grumbled, and he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms like a petulant child.

Everyone at the table laughed, smacking Ed on the back and telling him to lighten up. Ed ducked under Roy's hand as he tried to ruffle his hair and scowled at the other man.

"Oh, stop pouting, Ed! I always knew you'd be a moody drunk." Roy jibed, nudging Ed with his shoulder. Ed rolled his eyes and shoved him back.

"I'm not moody! And I'm not drunk, either. Why do I have to spend my birthday correcting you guys?" He complained with an air of exasperation.

"Maybe because it's true?" Here Roy nodded pointedly at the bottle Ed still held loosely in his flesh hand. When Ed lifted it, a considerable amount of beer sloshed around. "Are you sure you're not a lightweight?"

"I'm _not!"_ Ed denied fiercely, and he tried to regain some dignity by swallowing it in one gulp. He gagged a little before coughing out "It's not like I've had the time to finish it! It's like you're _trying_ to smother me with all these stories."

"Oh, that's right!" Winry squealed, nearly taking off a passing officer's head when her arms flailed around. The officer stared back at her as he quickly walked the other way. "Where were we?"

Mustang watched, amused, as she ignored her own question and launched into a story about how Ed had gotten locked in a closet at some point in his childhood. If Ed was a moody drunk, Winry was a happy one, and her thoughts jumped from one thing to the next like a bee going from flower to flower. Roy was extremely glad to have confessed to her about her parents. Sure, he had been scared out of his mind, and she hadn't spoken to him for months, but eventually Ed talked her out of it, and she'd been nothing but kind since.

Actually, it had been Winry's idea to have this little celebration. She'd come up to Headquarters while Ed was away talking to Armstrong, bringing Alphonse with her, and had barricaded Mustang's private office to plan. Al had said what Ed would like, and Riza had suggested the place, so that left Roy to get him there.

At first, Roy hadn't seen quite how that made sense, at which point, Winry looked at him as if he were a two-year-old and said very slowly "Al and I came up with it, Riza gave us the place, now _you_ have to do _something._"

And that was how Roy ended up catching Ed before he left and casually asking the blonde to grab a couple of drinks with him. Roy was eternally glad that Ed had agreed, because if he hadn't, Winry had ordered him to drag Ed to the bar anyway, and Roy really wasn't looking forward to a kidnapping charge on his resume.

Roy was almost surprised when not only Winry, Alphonse, and Riza, but most of the bar shouted "Happy Birthday!" when Ed walked in. It was after all a military hang out, and most, if not all, of the soldiers in Eastern HQ knew Ed on sight.

Roy _was_ surprised by the sudden image of Armstrong swooping down and embracing Ed in a bone-crushing hug. "_Oh, Edward Elric! You're finally a man! Such a great honor it is!"_

While Roy wondered how Armstrong could have hidden so well (it _was_ a rather open bar and it couldn't have been easy to hide Armstrong's bulky frame-maybe behind one of the pillars?)Ed was being suffocated by a mountain of muscle squeezing him from all sides.

"Major…can't…breathe!" he managed to strangle out, wheezing when he was finally set down. Armstrong boomed something about meeting an old war time friend and took his leave, giving Ed a gentle pat on the back that sent him stumbling into a nearby table.

When Ed had finally recovered from the force of nature that was Alex Louis Armstrong, Roy was grinning across at him.

"You _asshole!"_ The blonde whispered fiercely, straightening to glare at his superior. "I told you I didn't want anything special!"

"I know." Mustang knew his grin was especially smug.

"What's this then?" Ed growled.

"I believe it's a bar, but correct me if I'm wrong." At the glare Ed sent him, Mustang rolled his eyes in exasperation and nudged the blonde's shoulder. "Oh, come one, Ed! Everyone wants something for their birthday! Besides, most of the people were here anyways. Winry just roped them into her scheme by chance." Roy saw Ed's face light up and knew he would stay. "You probably missed her in all the commotion earlier. Now come one, before she gets angry at me for keeping you too long."

Mustang must have gotten Ed to the table in time, because Winry had shrieked and jumped at Ed, tackling him with what had to be a painful sort of enthusiasm. For Ed, at least. Al had clapped Ed on the back and given him a more sedate version of Winry's hug while Riza settled for smiling from the far end of the table before they all sat.

An hour of dinner and birthday affairs passed before Winry started the story telling, and everyone else was more than happy enough to add their own memories to the mix. A passing well-wisher would occasionally drop by and conversation would change until the person left. Eventually, a good portion of the bar had shifted out, leaving about a third of its original occupants.

"…and then we realized Ed had been in the closet the whole night because we fell asleep and we couldn't find him!" Winry concluded, a wide smile on her face. Ed looked dully embarrassed, cheeks flushed pink.

"It was a comfortable closet, okay?" He defended, holding both hands up.

Roy snorted and set down his drink so he could laugh properly. That had been one of the better stories. Who knew the kid-version of Edward would be so amusing? Not that he wasn't now, but there were only so many snarky comments Roy could take before he reached for his ignition gloves.

"What about you, Colonel?" Alphonse asked, the smile on his face mirrored in his eyes. "Do you have any stories?"

Roy was actually a Major General now, but for the first several years after they'd met, the boys had called him 'Colonel', and the nickname stuck even after his promotion. He liked to remember where he'd started-especially the people who had helped him- and the Elrics were a constant reminder of his humble beginnings.

"Oh, I don't know Al." Roy said in a half-hearted attempt to get out of it.

"Surely you must have _something._" Winry pleaded, looking uncannily like a kicked puppy.

"Yeah, Colonel. Tell us a story." Ed's eyes were challenging in a friendly manner, golden irises dancing with amusement.

"Go on, sir." Riza encouraged, and at that Roy had to tell a story.

"Alright, alright, fine. I'll tell your damn story." Mustang took a quick drink of his beer before he began. "This was when you first signed up, Ed. You were twelve, I think, and…has it only been nine years? Huh. I'll be damned. Anyway, you were twelve and you'd just left for your first assignment…"

* * *

"_Thank you, sir…Yes, I'm sure. Thank you. Goodbye."_

Mustang slammed the phone back in its cradle with a frustrated growl, roughly running his hands through his hair and making it stick up at odd angles. These damn generals would send him to his grave if the paperwork didn't do it first. Who knew being a Lieutenant Colonel entailed so much work? Eying the pile of papers stacked haphazardly on his desk with no small amount of disdain, Roy let his head fall to his desk with a sigh.

Alright, so it wasn't being a Lieutenant Colonel that got him so much paperwork.

It was the Fullmetal kid.

More than three-fourth of that stack was letters and 'suggestions' for the kid to be removed from his command and transferred somewhere else, leaving Roy to sort through them so he didn't miss an important memo warning him about a meeting the next day or an appointment he might miss.

But the paperwork was understandable. Not that he would ever admit it to the kid's face (no need to boost his ego) but he was a genius. A goddamned child prodigy if he'd ever seen one. There was no way Roy was going to let him slip through his fingers because of some bureaucrats. And then there was the thing with his brother and the fact that two of his limbs were steel. Of everyone in the world, there were only six people who knew about the failed transmutation.

Two of them were in Resembool, running an automail shop.

Two more were away on an assignment.

And the last two were here in the office.

Roy sighed again and tried not to think about the basement in that little house, covered with blood and chalk. He remembered seeing the streak of blood that stretched around the circle, like someone had dragged himself along, until it ended in a disturbingly large puddle. God, that had been awful.

Abruptly, the phone rang and brought him out of his musings. Not a moment later the door swung open to reveal his First Lieutenant. Riza Hawkeye stared down at him in a mixture of pity and frustration, hefting another pile of paperwork up so it landed dangerously close to Mustang's head.

"More papers, sir." She spoke over the ringing.

Roy groaned and left his head on his desk, waving a hand carelessly in the air. "I'll get to it, Lieutenant."

When he continued to let the phone ring, one of Hawkeye's eyebrows rose. "Aren't you going to get that, sir?"

"...No." He mumbled, and his hand flopped back down by his head. Riza sighed above him and picked up the phone, answering with a "Lieutenant Colonel Mustang's office."

Mumbling on the other side.

"Yes, sir."

More mumbling.

"I'm sorry, he's busy right now. Can I take a message?"

Louder mumbling.

"A meeting. With who?...One of his men. Correctional meeting."

The mumbling went back to normal.

"Yes, sir. Again, I'm sorry, sir. I'll make sure he gets your message."

One last mumble, and then a dial tone.

"Goodbye to you too, sir."

Mustang looked up when he heard the phone hit i's hook and frowned. "What did he want?"

Both of Riza's eyebrows rose. "I'm sure you already know. He wanted Fullmetal transferred, sir."

"Damn it."

Roy lifted his head and huffed, dragging the new stack of paperwork closer to him and reaching for the pen. He'd signed about a dozen and thrown nine away before he realized Riza was still in the room. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

She didn't speak for a moment, and Roy thought she might not say anything at all.

"Lieutenant?"

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing?"

This time she spoke instantly that Roy was so shocked he didn't hear it. "What?"

She looked nervous, so uncharacteristically unsure of herself that Mustang was starting to get worried. "…Sir, are you sure you're doing the right thing? With Fullmetal?"

Mustang didn't understand. "What right thing, Lieutenant?"

"Are you sure you shouldn't let him be transferred to someone else? You could get in a lot of trouble if they found out about…_it_."Riza sat down in the chair across from his desk and crossed her legs delicately.

And there it was. Riza was the other person who knew about the transmutation, and she was worried about it. Her concern wasn't that unfounded, actually. If anyone found out about the boys, not only they would be arrested and Al probably sent to a lab, but Roy would be demoted, maybe even kicked out of the military for good. It would have destroyed everything he'd been working for, everything his subordinates had followed him for, everything Riza backed him for. It could ruin him completely, and then his subordinates would be on their own and the boys would be separated, all because of one stupid mistake.

But maybe that was why he's recruited them. That was why he'd gone out there and suggested the military in the first place. They'd made one mistake. One stupid mistake, and they'd paid for it, but they didn't have to _keep_ paying for it.

So Mustang had gotten them under his command. Fullmetal was his subordinate, and it would stay that way, because he was going to save the kid even if he didn't become Furher.

"Yes, Lieutenant." He said slowly. "I'm sure. It'll be okay."

She stood, nodded, and left without saying another word.

Two weeks passed in which Mustang had twelve meetings and hundreds of papers that had to be signed or burned. Riza came into his office every few hours with another stack of paperwork or a general wishing to speak with him. So many people went in and out of his office that Roy didn't even know Ed was back until the blonde called to him as he left.

"Colonel!"

Roy almost missed the shout among the noise of his office. Ed had to say it two more times before he actually turned around to find the blonde leaning casually against the wall.

Ed looked tired, shoulders slumped, hands stuffed in his pockets, shadows under his eyes. Thick strands of hair had fallen out of Ed's braid and draped around his face. Behind him, his brother looked as weary as a suit of armor could look. Red eyes shone dimply from within the dusty helm. They were both dirty and bedraggled, but Ed's eyes still shone beneath the grime. Roy watched them flicker to the right in time to see a stack of papers fall of Breda's desk. The portly man groaned and bent down to retrieve them.

"You seem busy."

Roy rolled his eyes. Of course they seemed busy-they were absolutely swamped with paperwork. It wasn't just Roy getting letters about Ed's transfer, all his subordinates were. Dozens of people passed in and out of the office-sergeants, privates, lieutenants and generals trying to get Ed in their divisions. There were always a couple of cadets standing around with a message from their superior.

And the cause of all the chaos stood right in the middle of it, watching everyone bustle around him.

"What do you want, Fullmetal? I have a meeting in ten minutes, make it quick."

Ed's eyebrows rose at the sharp tone, but all he said was "I'm supposed you give you my report. I was going to go home and come back tomorrow, but Al made me come here first."

The blonde didn't look too happy about this, folding his arms across his chest and frowning. Roy wanted to laugh. Al had Ed wrapped around his little finger and the colonel was pretty sure he didn't even know it.

"Actually, Ed it'd be best if you _did_ stop by tomorrow. I don't think I'll have time today. _But-_" Roy continued loudly when it looked like Ed would turn and complain to his brother. "It was a good idea to stop by and ask. I could have needed that report."

Ed rolled his eyes and turned around to sulk. "What's the big deal anyways? Why is everyone so busy?"

For a moment, Roy debated whether or not he should tell Ed. Eventually he decided that Ed was old enough to deal with it if he'd signed up for the military.

"It's because of you." Ed's eyes widened. "Everybody wants you as their subordinate, Fullmetal. You go a long way for a promotion."

Roy wasn't exactly surprised when the kid scowled. His arms crossed defiantly and he growled "So I'm just a promotion to you?"

The colonel spread his arms out and smirked. "Does this look like a promotion, kid?"

Ed didn't answer.

"I'm not getting anywhere with you, Ed. Remember that. And also," here Roy leaned down a bit to make sure no one heard. "remember that I'm looking out for you and your brother."

With that, Roy turned away and walked out the door, leaving Ed to stare after him.

* * *

Roy had a meeting first thing the next day. General Gran was stopping by at eight to discuss Fullmetal. He was considering taping a sign that said "The Fullmetal Alchemist Is Non-Transferable" on his door, but then Ed would see it, and that would just start an incident that Roy didn't even _want_ to think about. Riza walked in, handed him his coffee and another stack of paper, and walked out. The door closed softly behind her, and Roy gave himself a moment to relax before the day began. He was just about to take a sip of the steaming coffee when the door slammed back open. Inwardly, he started screaming at whoever had disturbed his peace.

Outwardly, he sighed and said "What?"

A little golden spitfire was standing in the door, arm still propping it open. A large suit of armor stood behind him, leaning concernedly over his shoulder.

"Sorry, Colonel!" Alphonse managed to squeak out before his brother interrupted.

"I'm here for my report, bastard!" Ed practically shouted. Roy went ahead and drank half the coffee. He'd need it if he was going to deal with Ed this early.

"I've got a meeting soon, Fullmetal." The colonel said tiredly, pulling a few forms in the middle of his desk.

Ed stormed forward and slapped his hands down on top of the paper. Roy sighed.

"You said that last time! I'll give you my report and get out, but I'm not waiting to do it in three hours! Now," Ed dropped down into the chair in front of Mustang's desk and leaned forward. "How do I do this?"

Roy didn't even try to act frustrated. "Just tell me what happened, Fullmetal."

He spent the next half an hour listening to Ed rant and rave about how awful it had been, and how it had been a waste of his time, and that really, they couldn't have provided a better hotel? When he actually got around to explaining what had happened, he embellished everything, complaining about how he'd almost been _killed, for God's sake!_ Sometimes Al would interrupt to say something or tell him what actually happened, and for this Roy was eternally grateful.

By the end of the report, Ed was yelling loudly about how annoying it was to sit in a train for three hours. Mustang managed to cut him off and say that would be enough. Ed looked surprised, but he climbed to his feet, gave the Colonel a sarcastic salute and ambled out the door without another word.

Gathering a stack of completed papers together and making sure he remembered his coffee, Roy went out the open door. (He needed to remind Ed that he was supposed to _shut_ the door when he left.) Standing just outside his office next to his Lieutenant was General Gran. Roy froze, staring from his Lieutenant to the General and back again. Gran looked shocked, eyes blown wide, mouth hanging open slightly. Mustang had never seen the man look so stunned before in his life. The General looked like he'd just found out his whole childhood was a lie, that he was still a cadet, and that the Furher was a woman all at once.

"Sir?" Mustang croaked out, handing the papers to Hawkeye with shaking hands. She set them down at her desk and returned to the Colonel's side, trying not to stare at Gran. Mustang tried again. "Sir, are you okay?"

Gran shook himself and stared down at him. "Oh. Yes. Colonel. I think I'll have to cancel that meeting. You can handle Fullmetal on your own, I believe."

General Gran turned on his heel and left.

The whole office stared after him.

"Did he just…?" Havoc didn't even finish his question, still staring at the closed door. Ed and Al were still standing in the office. Ed looked particularly smug about something, and when the Colonel glanced at him, he smiled.

"Goodbye, Colonel. See you later."

Al bowed to the group of soldiers as his brother loped out the door. "Goodbye, sir!"

And then they were gone, as quick as they'd come.

* * *

"…and after that, we didn't get any more memos. All my meetings were canceled, and it all just ended. All because Ed sucked at giving reports!"

Ed was scowling furiously, trying to cover the faint blush on his cheeks by taking a large gulp of beer. Winry was laughing loudly, cheeks red and eyes twinkling. Across from her, Al chuckled and kicked his brother under the table.

"It's no surprise all the cadets are terrified of you! After that, I was surprised the Colonel let you stay!" Alphonse laughed again, and Ed reluctantly grinned.

"Whatever."

Once more, Roy was reminded about how Al had Ed wrapped around his little finger. Now he suspected that Al knew about it and often used it to his advantage, but whenever Roy talked to him about it, Al would just put on that boyish smile and say "What are you talking about, Colonel?"

Damn that boy for being so innocent.

Roy watched from his position at the end of the table as the younger Elric began another story and everyone settled down to listen.

Another hour went by at which point Winry decided she was tired of stories and started a drinking contest.

"Come on! Who thinks they can beat me?"

Riza had long before stopped drinking and Roy had switched to water at least three beers ago. Alphonse couldn't drink at all in the first place, so that left Ed to challenge the excited automail mechanic. Roy knew he would agree and Ed didn't let him down.

"Please, I won't even have to try! Come on, Winry! I'll show you how men drink!"

Instead of replying, Winry signaled for the bartender to bring over a couple shots and faced Ed head on. When the glasses were settled and Riza designated referee, Winry smirked over at Ed and said "Let's do it."

They both lasted a surprising sixteen shots before Winry's head hit the table and Ed tumbled sideways in his chair. The one beside him clattered to the floor loudly and Ed groaned.

"Make it stooooop." He slurred hazily, smacking the chair with his hand in an attempt to wave at it. Winry snickered from her position on the table, bright blue eyes staring mockingly down at the blonde on the floor.

"Nice job, Ed. Real-hic-man you are. –hic-."

Alphonse was doubled over laughing at Ed's side, alternately pointing at his brother and reaching a hand out so he didn't fall over.

All the other occupants of the bar had left and the wait staff was beginning to clean up. A few tables already had chairs stacked up on them and the bar had already been wiped down, the stools pushed back into place and alcohol put away. The lights were off in the far corner, making their table shine all the more brightly.

"Alright kids, we should probably get going."

Ed sat up suddenly, throwing his arms across the seat of his chair and clutching the other side like it was a lifeline. (Roy guessed correctly that the blonde was close to vomiting).

"Nooooo, Roy….We're havin' so much…_fu-un!_ Don't make us gooooo, pleeeeeee-e-e…" Ed trailed of, apparently having forgotten what he was trying to say.

"Yeah, Roy, pleeeeeeeeease?" Winry said. She tried the kicked puppy look again, but it was ruined by the way she was unable to make her mouth move correctly. Alphonse laughed again.

"No. We're going." Roy said with a smile, standing up and pushing his chair back in. Al stood as well, nudging his drink closer to the middle and then bending down.

"Alright, Ed, time to get up."

"No. Don't wanna." Ed pouted, clinging onto his chair more firmly.

"Ed, come on now."

"No."

"Please?"

Ed had been determinedly not staring at his younger brother, but as soon as he looked up and met his brother's brown eyes he sighed and held his hands up.

"Fine. You get to help me up."

Alphonse grinned and Ed struggled to hide his own small smile. Bracing himself against the table, Alphonse grabbed Ed's arms and pulled. Eventually the blonde State Alchemist was hefted to his feet. He stumbled around for a few moments until Al grabbed his arm and slung it over his shoulder.

"Okay, let's get-"

There was a loud yelp as Winry toppled out of her chair.

Al sighed when Ed started laughing uncontrollably, jerking his younger brother around as he doubled over. The younger Elric sent a pitiful look Mustang's way. "Help, please?"

Roy walked forward and grabbed the drunken blonde by his flesh arm and positioned it over his shoulders. "I've got him. You go and get Winry."

Roy and Ed waited while Al picked Winry up and let her lean against him as they walked. Riza collected all their belongings from the table and when Roy asked "Has everyone got everything?" she held up a collection of coats and purses. Alphonse waved to the bartender from his position under Winry and Riza said goodbye as they all moved out the door.

The streetlights were already on when they had all finally left the bar. There weren't too many people on the sidewalk, but there were dozens of cars on the street, speeding by with a loud roar. Ed groaned and tried to cover his ears but he missed, and ended up smacking himself in the nose.

"Ow." He mumbled, sagging against Roy. The General sighed and hefted the blonde up.

"Stay awake, Ed. We still have to get you home."

Ed frowned and peered blearily up at him. "But I don' wanna go home, Roy…I'm…tir'd…" His eyes slid closed and he slumped against Roy completely.

"Wh-Ed! Ed, get up!" When Ed didn't reply, Roy rolled his eyes and dragged the blonde over to lean against a trash can. Alphonse had let Winry stand on her own for a little while, watching her closely in case she accidentally wandered into traffic. Riza had gone down the street a bit to get the car and that left Roy and Alphonse as the only sober ones left outside the bar.

"Thanks for doing this, Colonel."

Roy looked up, surprised. "Why thank me, Alphonse? You were the one that came up with it."

Under the glare of the streetlight Roy saw Alphonse shrug. "I don't know. But Brother's always respected you, and you haven't let him down yet. So I just thought…thanks, is all."

Roy didn't believe he deserved the boy's thanks, but he accepted them with a nod and a smile anyways and bent down to check on Ed.

"To think," he said softly, tapping twice on Ed's head and then standing, "it was all because he couldn't give a proper report that no one wanted him except me."

Alphonse chuckled lowly and Roy turned, confused. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." When Roy continued to stare, Alphonse shrugged. "It's just that Ed was worried the first time he went to give you his report. That was most of the reason he wanted to come the next day."

Roy's eyebrows furrowed. "But he seemed so sure of himself!"

Another chuckle. Alphonse sighed and Roy could see his breath fog in the air. It hadn't been this cold earlier, but as soon as the sun set the temperature dropped drastically.

"That was an act. He heard that he'd been causing trouble so he decided he'd try and help you out. Acting up was the only way he knew how."

"…Well, it worked." Mustang said, and he turned to look at Ed in a new light. Had he been smart enough, even as a twelve-year-old, to scare off all the generals and commanders and colonels so that Mustang was the only one willing to take him?

Roy shook his head.

Of course he was.

A car horn honked from the street and Roy jerked his head up to see Riza sitting behind the wheel of a black military car.

Better get going!" Alphonse said cheerfully, lifting Winry up from where she'd slid down to sit against a grimy wall. Roy nodded, grabbed Ed by both arms and heaved. The trash can he was leaning against wobbled dangerously before settling with a thump. Ed blinked dazedly.

"Wha…?"

Roy smiled, ruffling Ed's hair and helping him over to the car.

"It's nothing, kid. Happy Birthday."

* * *

_A/N. And done! Longest one yet, maybe that'll take some of the edge of it being so LATE. Again, sorry about the wait. It won't be that long anymore!_

_-Shadow_


	10. Jacket

_A/N...so...hey there. sorry this took so long, and sorry if it's crap 'cause i'm a little out of practice, but here's a new chapter! And now i'm going to go hide with my shame..._

10) When Ed woke curled up on the ground next to his mother's gravestone, his thoughts went immediately to the time when she had just died, and he and Al slept in that very spot every night. Al, he remembered, would always be the one to remember to bring something to keep them warm, and Ed would wake up with an old blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Almost instinctively, he turned to see if Al had somehow remembered, and froze when he saw the familiar blue military jacket. Ed did the only thing he could do—he stood and immediately stomped the jacket into the mud.

* * *

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

(No one answers, because no one is there. The only thing left is a gravestone and some flowers that have already begun wilting from the time he put them there last night.)

"Well, I don't. And the sass that's going on right now is definitely not appreciated. Not at all, Mom."

(Somewhere, Trisha is watching and grinning behind her hand, too much of a lady to openly laugh while her son is scowling at the universe for throwing him another curveball.)

"It really isn't funny. I don't care what you say; it'll always be spectacularly _not-funny_. The most not-fun thing in existence, and there are a lot of not-fun things out there. _Seriously._"

(By now Trisha must be shaking her head at him, and, well. Okay, maybe it is kind of funny. But only a little. _Just_ a little. He won't give away anymore than that.)

"Did you even hear that? I sounded _nine_. Look what you've reduced me to! You should be ashamed, Mom. What kind of mother does that?!"

(In his hands, a worn military jacket crumples between clumsy metal fingers that twitch sporadically, and really, he _knows_ better than to try and lie to his mother.)

"Okay, so it's a little funny."

(Maybe he should explain.)

(It starts on a Thursday, which is a day meant only to take up space between Wednesday and the weekend. It could have started on any other day, and some people might argue that it started on a Monday, but he will always say it started on a Thursday, if he says it at all. From now on, Thursdays will be frowned upon. Or laughed at. He's not quite sure which one, yet, but he's getting off topic, it's time to tell a story.)

"How adverse is your…_extended family_ to the military? Still extremely?"

"How adverse are you to water? Still extremely?"

"Extremely, then."

(Ed is seventeen and high on life-maybe not life, but definitely open air and the country side and potentially returning home for a few days-and not even Mustang can drag him down. They might have stayed in tents for the past three night, and they might be running low on rations and they might have finally killed the half-dozen rogue alchemists they were sent to eliminate (two _months_ ago, _seriously_) but they might be closer to Resembool than the nearest military check point and they might be headed home soon, and Ed _might_ be excited about it. _Might._)

"You do realize running won't get you there any faster, right?"

"Do you understand the concept of running, Colonel? It makes you go _faster."_

"Do you understand the concept of pulling stitches, Fullmetal? It makes you go _slower."_

"Details, Mustang. Details."

(And okay, he's seventeen and high on life, but maybe he's a little high on pain pills too.)

"That. Is a fucking _huge_ cloud. Look at it."

(Okay, maybe a lot high. But you can't blame him, a whole day and a half of his life have now been lost to daze of mind-numbing agony that follows having a tree shove itself through your side because some jacked-up alchemist thought it would work. Clearly it didn't, but it had been a near thing, from what he'd heard. The way Fury told it, he was babbling nonsense and asking for Al and Mustang had to remind him that Al was in Xing with his girlfriend, he wasn't there right now, just hold on Ed.)

(Or something like that. Ed doesn't remember a lot.)

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were excited, Chief."

"You don't know me better."

"_Ed."_

"What?!"

"Play nicely or I'll have to put you in time-out."

(The only problem with traveling alongside a group of soldiers that act younger than you is that fights break out over who gets the last energy bar (Ed) and who gets to sleep on the only pillow (Riza) and who doesn't have to cook that night (Mustang, always Mustang). The only way Ed gets through it is by reminding himself that in a week there will be fresh food and warm beds and bathrooms so he doesn't have to smell three days of forest on everyone. But mostly the food.)

"Fullmetal? You keeping up back there?"

"…Mmmh?"

"I'll take that as a no."

"…would probably be a good idea…"

"Okay."

"…wha-? Why 'm I upside down?"

"Go to sleep, kid."

(If Ed thinks about it too hard-and he really doesn't want to, because when he does, his head hurts and that makes it a _bitch_ to do alchemy, and _thanks but no thanks_ on the not being able to get his ass out of trouble at a moment's notice. He'll keep his life, if you don't mind-he wonders why Mustang's been so nice lately. It's confusing, because his whole life the Colonel's been very up-front about what a bastard he is and ever since a few months ago he's been…well, not _softer_, (because when has the Colonel ever been soft, seriously, this is _Mustang_ he's talking about here) but certainly _kinder_ to Ed. Longer breaks when Al's home. Shorter assignments so he isn't away so long. Not as many short jokes around the office (Ed won't say they've gone completely and really, he wasn't expecting them to) and Ed can't figure out why. The only way he knows how to deal with it is to proceed like he does with everything else and ignore it until it goes away. It should work beautifully.)

(It doesn't.)

"You know, you _really_ didn't have to throw yourself in front of a bullet for me. It was kind of pointless. I had a wall ready and everything, look!"

"Jesus, Fullmetal, can't you ever just say _thanks for saving my life, it really means a lot to me?_"

"No."

"…You. Are a child."

"Well, so are you."

(That was a month and a half ago and well…Ed's never dealt well with guns being pointed at him and apparently, Mustang's a die-hard for pointless heroics (literally), so the whole day had ended in Ed secretly freaking the fuck out and forcing it out of his system by snapping at Mustang for trying to save his life. He _clearly _had a handle on this, no matter what Al said.)

(But back to the headliner.)

"Do you recognize anything?"

"No."

"…Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"No."

"Are you even sure where you are?"

"No."

"…Are-"

"No!"

(They're something like twenty miles from Resembool, only they're not sure which twenty miles they need to be crossing and Breda's getting antsy. Ed is too, because home is so close he can _feel _it ringing in his bones and prosthetic limbs but he can't _see_ it.)

"Maybe we should ask for directions."

"I know where I'm going!"

"Oh, really? Because it kind of looks to me like we're lost!"

"Do you want to guide this tour, Mustang?"

"Probably do it a damn lot better than you."

"_Boys!"_

(It doesn't help that Mustang's being a pompous ass about it when not two hours ago he was carrying Ed on his back because his side had decided to poke a sleeping bear and had paid the consequences. Maybe he's just confused because he's still a little high. (But another part of him wonders if maybe he's a little confused because this is the first time a father's cared for him.) Most of the time he tells that part to shut up.)

"Wait. I recognize this…Hey! The train station!"

(And if Ed thought he was high on life earlier, nothing compares to seeing the run down train station and dusty road that leads home. He can literally feel the life thrumming in his bones like he can feel the alchemy coursing through his veins after a transmutation, buzzing with energy and restless movement that can't be stopped. Ed surges forward, ignoring warnings about injuries and the dangers of straining them and practically drags the rest along behind him. He's going _home.)_

"…I thought you said you were _welcome_ here, Fullmetal."

"I am!"

"Yeah, tell that to the wrench sticking out of your forehead."

"What?"

"Dammit, you do _not _need another concussion right now."

(And really, the only reason Winry threw the wrench at him is because it's kind of a habit since he only comes home with a military escort when he's broken his automail. Again. (Which is a bit unfair if you ask him, but no one ever does.))

"So. Seventeen now, eh, Ed?"

"Yeah, I'm all grown up now, Granny! Can't call me a shrimp anymore!"

(If there was one good thing about turning seventeen it was the growth spurt that accompanied it. He now saw eye to eye with Mustang and didn't have to crane his head as much to talk to Falman. Armstrong was still a giant, but then again, everyone already knew that. And yes, he's proud of his new height but dammit, there's a story trying to be told and it's waited long enough.)

(Fast forward maybe three hours, past an automail check up that Winry insisted on despite Ed's assurances that nothing was wrong and a fantastic battle over who would shower first (Riza won) and you land somewhere around dinner time where everyone was trying to pack into Pinako's tiny kitchen until Breda suggested they all eat out on the porch.)

"…and so Al's in the tree and Ed's on the ground yelling at him for trying to save the cat, and all the while the cat had already climbed down on its own, and…"

"…you've got Havoc hiding behind a wall near Mustang, who's crouched next to an overturned car, and there's Ed, in the middle of the street, screaming about…"

"…done with dinner? I think Granny made a pie. I'll be right back…"

"…delicious! Best pie I've had, hands down!"

"You say that about every pie, Breda."

"Shove off, Ed."

(It's kind of like this. Ed really likes his family, (both of them) and it kind of makes him happy that they can both get along. Maybe Pinako's not _still extremely adverse_ to the military and maybe Mustang's behaving like a regular human being with _manners_ and _respect_ and maybe, _just_ _maybe_, Ed's a little bit content with life where he hadn't been the previous seven years. It's kind of like that.)

"Don't think you can skip out of helping with the dishes, young man!"

"Of course not, Granny! Who do you take me for, Mustang?"

"No need to be disrespectful, Ed."

"_Disrespectful_!"

(It's still kind of like that half an hour later with his hands red and raw from scrubbing dishes, sitting on the floor next to Den and listening to the radio with everyone else. But (why does there have to be a but, he was happy here, there was nothing wrong here) he's home and home used to be the burnt out shell of a house and home still means trekking out at night when everyone else is headed to bed and home still means laying flowers on her grave.)

"Hi Mom. I'm home again."

(Home means talking to her like she's still there, telling her everything she already knows because he misses having a mom. It means being a kid again.)

"All grown up now. Seventeen and all that. Did you see Al finally ask Mei out? God, we've been waiting for that for _months_, and when he _finally _does, he manages to 'forget to tell us' about it…"

(No one knows how he spends his nights in Resembool, rambling to a headstone in the moonlight about nothing and everything except Al, because Al used to spend his nights in Resembool rambling to a headstone about nothing and everything with him. Ed used to have to be brave for him. Now that he's alone he doesn't have to.)

"It's really hard Mom, and I know you know that but that's the first time I've said it out loud because you're not allowed to say it's hard in the military, right? It's your _job_ and you do it and you can't complain because somewhere else someone is doing something that destroys them even worse than it's destroying you and _they_ aren't complaining, so how can _you?_ And everyone gets how fucking _hard_ it is, but no one _talks_ about it…"

(Sometimes, Ed wishes his mother was still here. (Don't say, _no shit, every kid want his dead mother back_. _Don't_ say that to him, who tried to bring his mother back from the dead and nearly damned himself and his brother. _Don't _say that to him, because that's _not_ what he means.) He doesn't want his mother back all the time, he understands that dead people stay dead, but he wants her back when everything's getting a little over his head and he doesn't know how to deal. He just wants to be able to ask someone for help without being judged.)

"And Jesus, Mom, what's up with Mustang? He's acting like my _dad_ or something. It's freaking me out. Like, he actually _cares_ about what happens to me on missions and makes sure I'm eating right and checks in on me now and then, even though I'm pretty sure that's Riza's fault. There's no way Bastard Colonel Mustang actually cares what happens to me."

(Aren't mothers supposed to be good with advice? Shouldn't she know what to do when he's got the chance at another father that he wouldn't really mind?)

"...It wouldn't be that bad if me and Al had someone looking out for us."

(He ignores the voice in his head that sounds a lot like his mother telling him that Mustang's always looked out for them and that if Ed doesn't mind so much he should stop pretending like he does.)

"But he'll be annoying about it! And what if he's just being nice for a joke and doesn't really care about me. You know what, that bastard can shove it, I don't want to play games anymore."

(He's pouting now, and somewhere, his mother is laughing at him and he might resent her a little bit for that but he doesn't really. He could never resent her. And then she's singing him lullabies tucked into the whistle of the wind and other murmurings of the night and Ed really, _really_ misses his mother.)

"This isn't funny."

(It may seem like he's already said this bit before, right at the beginning of telling the story, but he hasn't. This is the prologue to where everyone stumbled in. This is the part he doesn't want to talk about, except how he really does.)

"You knew this would happen, didn't you? It's all a big joke to you, and I'm telling you right now, _it's not funny."_

(It's not funny, because there's something warm and blue draped across his shoulders, and after months of falling asleep by his mother's grave, he expects it to be one of Al's blankets again. It _should_ be one of Al's blankets again. He should be snoring next to his little tiny human brother under a blanket that he forgot to bring in the middle of April. Instead, he's snoozing under a blue and gold jacket he remembers seeing upside down a day ago and it shouldn't make him feel loved.)

(Instead, he runs away from it and straight towards anger.)

"This isn't funny, Mustang! I didn't _ask_ for a _father!_ Leave me _alone!_"

(He doesn't want to be left alone. He's tired of being abandoned. But mimicking his brother? Lending him his coat?)

"You _don't_ get to play games with me, Mustang! This is what I think of these stupid. Fucking. Games."

(The jacket's on the ground, painted with muddy footprints and suddenly, Ed's had enough.)

"They aren't games, are they?"

(The wind whispers to him, and if Ed listens close enough, he can hear his mother's voice.)

"He's serious, isn't he? He actually cares."

(And just like that, all the anger floods out of Ed. When he's honest with himself (and that's not as often as it should be) he knows that anger left a while ago. Ed grins.)

"You're laughing at me now."

(No answer. But that might be because whoever he's talking to died a long time ago.)

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

(The sun shines a little brighter, warming up his face and drying the mud that clings to the jacket he holds tight between his fingers.)

"Well, I don't."

(But he does.)

"And the sass that's going on right now is definitely not appreciated. Not at all, Mom."

(Except it is.)

"It really isn't funny. I don't care what you say, it'll always be spectacularly _not-funny_. The most not-fun thing in existence, and there are a lot of not-fun things out there. _Seriously._"

(He's just being immature now. Trying to win a battle he really wants to lose. Grinning through it all.)

"Did you even hear that? I sounded _nine_. Look what you've reduced me to! You should be ashamed, Mom. What kind of mother does that?!"

(The kind of mother that wants the best for her son does that. The kind of mother that knows what's right does that. _His_ mother does that.)

"Okay, so it's a little funny."

(The jacket dangles from his fingers when he trudges back home, sleeves almost touching the ground but kept carefully out of reach.)


End file.
